In 1997, gendarmes questioned teenagers in Combrée at home. The case was serious: suspicions of rape and sexual assault at a private school, attributed to a boarding school supervisor. Then, nothing. No trial, no article, no known follow-up. An entire investigation vanished. Not a word in the records, no clear recollection in the official memoirs. As if this affair, despite being mentioned by several former students, had never existed. Jean-Louis Tabouret, mayor of the town between 2001 and 2008, was never informed of these facts, despite the school's permanent closure under his term. The establishment, since transformed into a youth integration center, had nevertheless been visited by the gendarmes, according to numerous testimonies. The latter spoke of interviews conducted at their homes, often under the supervision of their parents, making any confession impossible. The victims remained silent, paralyzed.
A collective memory erased
The hearings primarily targeted day students, while the majority of reported assaults allegedly occurred at boarding school or during mountain stays. The discomfort is palpable: some cite the impossibility of speaking in the presence of parents. The president of the Combrée Alumni Association recalls the turmoil of the time, but the events seem never to have reached the courts. The Angers public prosecutor, Éric Bouillard, in office at the time, finds no trace of the investigation. He admits he has no memory and does not rule out any hypothesis. Even the former Pouancé gendarmes, recently interviewed, have no memory of this affair. A collective erasure, voluntary or not. And yet, evidence remains. Two complaints were filed in 2016 and 2019 for similar acts, but the statute of limitations has stifled their legal scope. They are a reminder, however, that the accusations are not new. Two other former students claim to have tried to raise the alarm at the time, but were not heard. One was threatened by a school principal, the other discouraged by the police themselves.
A late but determined awakening
In April 2025, Henri took the plunge: he filed a rape complaint. A few days later, Esther, an alleged victim in the early 1980s, followed suit. Lawyer Romaric Raymond is now gathering additional testimonies to prepare a class action lawsuit. The Angers prosecutor's office has opened a new investigation, entrusted to the gendarmerie. The investigations are broadening: the suspect's wife, a childminder, could be the subject of further investigations. In Dinard, where the man later worked as a boarding school director until 2006, the Solacroup Institute has launched an appeal for witnesses. The 79-year-old suspect has been hospitalized for several months. He is presumed innocent. But this time, tongues are loosening, archives are being combed through, and the justice system is attempting to fill twenty-seven years of silence.
