Punished for “Bad Behavior”: The Chilling Sequence of Events
On the night of October 31, near the small town of Liverdun in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département of northeastern France, a 44-year-old father decided to punish his son for misbehaving. Rather than the usual reprimand, he opted for something far more shocking—according to L’Est Républicain, he attempted to abandon his child in the middle of a forest.
The night had already taken a dark turn when the boy, desperate and panicked as he realized his father was leaving him behind, clung to the car as it began to move. The result was devastating: the child was dragged several meters, suffering severe injuries that required immediate hospitalization. As if that wasn’t enough, the ordeal left him not only physically wounded but also in a state of profound shock.
From Forest to Hospital: Suspicion and Discovery
In the aftermath, the father did take his son to Nancy University Hospital—though not before attempting to explain away the boy’s injuries as the result of an “accident.” The 6-year-old, a resident of Frouard (also in Meurthe-et-Moselle), presented with a head trauma, deep cuts to his face and hands, and was in shock, according to journalists following the case.
Hospital staff, however, were not convinced by the father’s story. Their doubts quickly led them to suspect abuse, and the authorities were notified. The father was soon placed into police custody while investigations began in earnest.
The Boy’s Testimony: A Shocking Alternative to the Father’s Story
During questioning, the young boy confirmed suspicions of maltreatment. Worse still, the version of events he told the investigators sent shivers down their spines, differing starkly from his father’s claims about an “accident.”
That day, October 31, the boy had been unruly at his after-school activity center. Instead of simply scolding his son, the father reportedly decided to leave him alone overnight in the Liverdun forest. Upon arriving at the location, he asked his child to get out of the car before attempting to drive away. Realizing what was happening, the terrified child grabbed onto the car. Rather than stop, his father kept driving, dragging the boy along the road for roughly ten meters (about 33 feet) before the ordeal ended and the child was finally taken to the hospital.
Legal Consequences and Public Outrage
When confronted with his son’s statements, the father stuck to his initial story, insisting the injuries were accidental. He told investigators he’d broken down in the woods and asked his son to get out and help him maneuver the car, saying the injuries occurred during this supposed maneuver. Neither hospital staff nor law enforcement, including the Nancy public prosecutor, were convinced.
The 44-year-old has now been officially charged with “intentional violence by an ascendant against a minor under 15 years old resulting in total incapacity to work for more than eight days”—a particularly serious charge under French law. He is set to stand trial in March 2025. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a fine of €75,000 (approximately $82,000 USD at current exchange rates). While released under judicial supervision, he has been formally forbidden from contacting his son until the trial.
How can anyone call this individual a father? Get this child away from this torturer as quickly as possible so he can rebuild his life with another family. Stop giving support to these tormentors.
Compassion for this young boy.
Tragedies like this raise painful questions about child protection—and about the responsibility we all share to help children heal, and rebuild, after such trauma.
