Though 44-year-old French national Pascal Mazurier has been acquitted by a Sessions court of the charge of raping his then three-and-a-half-year-old daughter five years ago, the legal battle is far from over. The prosecution and the girl’s mother are planning to appeal against the verdict in the High Court of Karnataka.
Mr. Mazurier is also exploring the legality of gaining custody of his three children, who are currently living with his wife, and taking them back to France.
“The children are citizens of France and they have the right to stay there with their father and the family who is waiting for their reunion back there,” said S. Mahesh, counsel for Mr. Mazurier, soon after the verdict.
On June 13, 2012, Mr. Mazurier’s wife returned home to find their daughter crying.
In her complaint to the police, she said that according to the domestic help, Mr. Mazurier had been in their bedroom with their daughter for a long time.
On June 14, she took her daughter to a private hospital where doctors, after conducting a swab examination on the child, found that it tested positive for sperm. After the hospital confirmed rape, the mother filed a complaint against her husband with the High Grounds police.
The police summoned Mr. Mazurier for questioning the same evening and let him go after he denied the allegation. He, was however, subsequently arrested.
Kumar Jahgirdar, president for CRISP, a city-based NGO for child rights and shared parenting, who helped Mr. Mazurier fight the case, said that “though there was a delay in justice, victory for the truth prevailed”.
‘I’m devastated’
On learning that the sessions court has acquitted Pascal Mazurier, 44, of the charge of raping his daughter, his wife said she was devastated, but would appeal to the High Court of Karnataka.
She told The Hindu on Wednesday that she as well as her daughter were unhappy with the acquittal. “My daughter was sexually violated and I kept telling her we will get justice for the past five years,” she said.
She is now gearing up to protect her three children in the event of a custody battle. When asked what she would do if Mr. Mazurier tried to get custody of their children, she said she was going to “try” to protect her children. “I do not have the money nor the clout that he enjoys. But I will certainly try,” she said.
Kripa Alva, chairperson of the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said she was waiting for the judgment copy.
