The life of a 14-year-old child and his family was shattered in a split second on July 23, 2020 in Rochefort. That day, the teenager participates in events organized by his scout leaders. One of them is to make “dishes” in a stream. His dive took a dramatic turn: a broken sixth cervical. He has since been a quadriplegic. “His project was to become a cook. We had enrolled him in the hotel school of Namur. He was full of ambition. Everything went up in the air. He can no longer hold a knife, he can no longer pee alone. For the rest, we accompany him as best we can. It’s the tragedy of our lives”adds his mother.
The scout leader who organized this event is being prosecuted before the Dinant criminal court for involuntary assault and battery and failure to assist a person in danger. The first prevention is recognized. Not the second. “Everyone was doing their test in their corner”begins the interested party. “But in my memories, we still agreed not to have the same game twice.”
There was only 40cm of water where the dish competition was held. A (low) height reached thanks to a dam built a few days earlier, so that the scouts might wash. It was a heat wave at that time. The children jumped from a pontoon also 40cm from the highest level of the water. “We had moved the pebbles and we might see the bottom of the water”, says the defendant. However, some scouts will claim otherwise. The water was murky.
For the civil party and the Namur public prosecutor’s office, it is the most total misunderstanding. How might we organize (and persist in maintaining) such a dangerous game? Especially since this scout leader is not a novice. He was 25 at the material time. He was trained and in his sixth year of hosting. For the public prosecutor, this accident was avoidable. “Some scouts were reluctant regarding this event. He replied “stop being sissy.” Four of them injured their knees, hips and chins during previous jumps. Finally, a scout told him proposed to play this game in the Lesse, located a little further.” The Namur prosecution castigates the attitude of the defendant, following the facts. Head under water, the victim was no longer moving. “And he stayed in his camping seat telling other scouts it would be nice to rescue him.” The facilitator, he says that he did not immediately take the full measure of the gravity of the facts. “I thought it was a joke but I quickly saw that he was not reacting. A scout pulled his head out of the water. We put him back on the pontoon, other leaders arrived then the help. I went to get the pharmacy and a towel to rub his head.”
For defence, all human activity involves an element of risk. A bad fall might just as well have happened during the human pyramid, another event organized that day. “What interest would he have had in not rescuing one of his anime?”, argues the defense requesting a suspension of the pronouncement. A favorable measure opposed by the Namur public prosecutor’s office, which requires a work sentence of 80 to 100 hours. Judgment April 28.
