Par
Anaelle Montagne
Published on Nov 9, 2024 at 7:32 a.m.
See my news Follow News Bordeaux
Théo*, 10 years old, almost fell into the clutches of a multi-recidivist child molester. Vincent Terrasson, a 34-year-old from Béglais convicted three times for multiple child criminal acts, is suspected of having used the online video game Fortnite to come into contact with children.
It is through this means that he would little by little gained trust of little Théo, going so far as to offer him a meeting in Bordeaux. If the little boy’s parents were able to narrowly avoid the worst, their complaint filed in early 2022 was unfortunately dismissed.
Today, Vincent Terrasson is being prosecuted for several acts of voyeurism andsexual assault. Acts that he allegedly committed after the complaint filed by Théo’s parents – even if the Béglais remains, at present, presumed innocent in this new affair.
A new friend in Fortnite
Delphine* and Pierre*, Théo’s parents, still seem in shock. On the terrace of the café where we met them, they display screenshots of Snapchat chats. These are the exchanges that their son had for several days with the man they thought was “his new boyfriend 15 year old, met on Fortnite”.
The video game very popular with teenagers allows you to play online with strangers. In January 2022, after a game, Théo receives an invitation request from one of the players. His nickname: Dadboyfr. “Our son told us about it, he told us that he had made a new friend who was really very nice,” explains Delphine.
Videos: currently on Actu
Quickly, the two players added each other on Snapchat, where they chatted regularly. Until Vinc Vinc, as he calls himself on the app, offers Théo a meeting. The little one innocently talks about it to his parents, who frown: “It seemed strange to us, especially since our son only swore by him for a week, which is unlike him. »
Meeting suggestion
Pierre then decides to take over the discussion and pretends to be his child. Quickly, Vinc Vinc explains that he is actually 30 years old and confirms that he knows Théo’s age. “He offered to take the bus to meet him in Bordeaux and buy him a movie screening, without saying anything to his mother,” explains Pierre.
The parents then search the player’s profile and quickly come across his name. By typing it into Google they discover, dismayed, that it seems to be a multi-recidivist child molester. Vincent Terrasson was sentenced in 2009 to three years in prison for a sexual assault committed when he was 15 years old and for possession and distribution of child pornography images.
In 2013 he was sentenced to three years in prison for possession and distribution of child pornography images and for instigating the corruption of a minor (he attempted to obtain images or comments of a sexual nature without succeeding).
And in 2018, similar facts earned him a sentence of six years in prison. More than 150,000 child pornography files were found in his phones and computers. He finally served his sentence in two and a half years and he is suspected of having reoffended upon his release, in September 2021.
Their complaint dismissed
Upon discovering the convictions of their son’s alleged interlocutor, Delphine and Pierre immediately decide to file a complaint. But what Theo narrowly avoided goes prevent them from being heard by justice.
The Girondin parents’ complaint is filed for “attempted corruption of a minor”, a charge which is generally characterized by an attempt to incite sexualized behavior.
The problem – and fortunately for Théo – is that their son’s interlocutor probably did not exchange sexual message with him. “Technically, his behavior therefore does not demonstrate any child abuse offense,” sighs lawyer Sophie Benayoun, who advises Théo’s parents and supports other potential victims of Vincent Terrasson.
“This is clearly a legal vacuumunderlines Me Benayoun, and the law must change: adults should not have the right to propose meetings to minors they do not know. »
The absence of a charge will push the court to dismiss the complaint early 2023, one year after its filing. However, the sentences to which the Béglais had been sentenced were accompanied by socio-judicial monitoring, which included a prohibition of contact with minors. Which didn’t change anything. It took a report from the FBI for justice to launch a new investigation.
Prosecuted for two new sexual assaults
In May 2023, Ofmin (for Office minors), which fights against violence against minors, received this report from American authorities. The FBI observed the activities of an Internet user, Vincent Terrasson in this case, who indicated on a pedophile site “that he was the father of an eight-year-old boy and that he had touched his genitals”.
An investigation was then opened, the Béglais man was arrested on September 19, 2023 and a search is carried out at home. Beyond thousands of child pornography files discovered, the French authorities realized that he could have committed sexual assault and voyeurism on children. But how did he come into contact with them, even though he is forbidden to do so?
In fact, Vincent Terrasson first interfered in the life of a single mother, after she asked for technical help on a Facebook group dedicated to Fortnite. Once he managed to get closer to her, he is suspected of having sexually assaulted her son on several occasions as well as a friend who came to sleep at his house.
Over the same period, that is to say after Théo’s parents filed a complaint, the Bordeaux resident also interfered with another family in the north of France, managing to to be invited to a baptism where he then spent several days.
Two sexual assaults held against him
It must be said that the Girondin is experienced in the exercise: he is said to have “given advice on techniques for approaching children” to his former co-inmate, Dorian Laroche, then infamously known as the “babysitter of Bordeaux”.
Vincent Terrasson is now being prosecuted for “habitual consultation of an online communication service making available the pornographic image or representation of a minor”, “possession and dissemination” of child pornography images as a repeat offender, as well as for “sexual assault” on two 9-year-old children and “voyeurism”, on them and two other minors.
Me Benayoun, who will defend two families of victims during the trial, regrets “the failure of justice” in this case.
The lack of supervision of Vincent Terrasson, even though he was prohibited from having contact with minors, made this criminal a potential predator who was able to operate with complete impunity.
Sophie Benayoun
Other potential victims remain to be identified
Little Théo’s parents, for their part, remain speechless: “Our son had a narrow escape, but not the others. If justice had listened to uswe could have avoided causing new victims. »
Delphine and Pierre want to encourage families to monitor their children’s contacts on online video games, ground for many predators. “Parents often think that their children are safe when they are at home, but it’s falseinsists Me Benayoun. It’s simple: child criminals are everywhere where there are children. »
Others potential victims of Vincent Terrasson, visible on images found on his computers and telephones, remain unidentified. The association Innocence in danger has joined as a civil party to defend them on the day of his trial, which will be held on November 13, 2024 at the Bordeaux court.
*First names have been changed to maintain anonymity
Follow all the news from your favorite cities and media by subscribing to Mon Actu.
