Body Discovered in Search for Missing 11-Year-Old, While Suspect's Previous Rape Allegations Were Dropped

A BODY has been found in the desperate hunt for an 11-year-old girl – as it emerged the main suspect had faced multiple rape allegations that were never acted on.

The grim discovery was made on Thursday, with formal identification now underway, according to an informed source.

French police walk on a road outside Puycasquier, central France, near the site where a body was discovered Credit: AFP The body was found in the search for a missing girl, 11, and formal identification is now underway Credit: AFP

The girl, named only as Lyhanna, vanished last Friday near the village of Fleurance in south-western after being seen getting into a man’s car.

A 41-year-old father-of-two has been detained as the key suspect.

But the case has sparked a firestorm after it was revealed he had been repeatedly accused of sexually abusing children – with previous complaints either dropped or dismissed.

A prosecutor confirmed the existence of earlier allegations, fuelling outrage over what critics say are catastrophic failures in the justice system.

“What we’re discovering day after day is absolutely unbearable,” government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said.

“It raises a profound question: what importance do we give to victims’ testimonies? How are investigations conducted?” she told Europe 1 and CNews.

For days, around 170 officers – backed by volunteers, some on horseback – had been scouring the countryside in a frantic search for Lyhanna.

After being confronted with CCTV footage, the suspect admitted giving the girl a lift – but claimed he dropped her off at a .

For days, around 170 police officers – backed by volunteers, scoured the countryside in a frantic search for the girl Credit: Shutterstock Editorial A 41-year-old father-of-two has been detained as the key suspect Credit: AFP

Olivier Naboulet, a public prosecutor, said the body found appeared to be “that of a child, wearing clothing similar to that worn by the abducted and held minor at the time of her disappearance .”

Prosecutor Clemence Meyer revealed a disturbing of complaints against the suspect.

In December 2017, a mum reported that her 17-year-old daughter had been in a relationship with him – but the case was dropped in 2018 after the girl said she had consented.

In January 2022, another complaint accused him of raping a child under 15 in 2020 at his home.

That case was ultimately dismissed in 2024 due to lack of evidence.

Then, on August 22, 2025, a third allegation surfaced – with the mum of a girl born in 2014 accusing him of raping her child between September 2024 and May 2025.

The complaint was transferred between prosecutors before police were finally ordered to investigate in January – but shockingly, he had still not been questioned when Lyhanna disappeared.

“The investigation was still under way when Lyhanna went missing,” Meyer said.

She added that yet another complaint alleging the rape of a minor had been filed on Wednesday.

France’s interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, has now demanded an inquiry into how the earlier cases were handled.

Campaigners have reacted with fury.

“I am stunned and I am angry,” said Anne-Cécile Mailfert, of the Women’s Foundation.

“Another 10-year-old girl found the immense courage to tell her parents. They supported her, they believed her, she went to the police, they filed a complaint, and then nothing happened,” she said.

“We’re calling for a comprehensive against sexual violence, because the system doesn’t work.”