Two young people placed under judicial supervision after the destruction of a statue of the Virgin Mary in Porto-Vecchio

A statue of the Virgin Mary was vandalized and destroyed on the night of September 30 to October 1 in Porto-Vecchio. This Friday, two young suspects were placed under judicial supervision. Their immediate departure from Corsica was recorded, with a ban on reappearing on the island.

The two young men had broadcast their “exploit” on social networks: the sentence was almost immediate.

This Friday, October 2, at the end of the day, the Ajaccio prosecutor's office announced the placement under judicial supervision of the two suspects in the destruction of the statue of the Virgin Mary at the Stabiacciu roundabout, in Porto-Vecchio.

They are being prosecuted for "serious damage in assembly of the statue of the Virgin Mary to the detriment of the parish and the town hall of Porto-Vecchio", and "sexual exhibition".

Their departure from Corsica is immediate: both are prohibited from appearing again in Corsica and will have to report regularly to their department of origin. They are summoned on November 16 before the criminal court to be tried. “This distance and the proximity of the hearing date should make it possible to judge calmly this case, which has generated a very strong impact locally,” specifies the Ajaccio prosecutor’s office in a press release.

Wave of indignation and rallies

Indeed, this sanction comes after the wave of indignation which swept the island, following the discovery of the destroyed statue, Thursday October 1. A fact relayed by the mayor of the city, Jean-Christophe Angelini, on social networks.

Even more, the video posted overnight on the networks by the young men, showing one of them miming a sexual act on the statue while making sexist remarks, had deeply shocked Internet users. Gatherings were organized on Thursday, October 1, in front of the gendarmerie where the suspects were placed in police custody, then in the evening at the Stabiacciu roundabout.

Seasonal contracts known to the courts

In its press release, the prosecutor's office provides more information regarding the profile of the two men involved: "both had come to Porto-Vecchio as part of seasonal contracts in the hotel and restaurant industry. One is known to the courts for an offense of driving without a license, the other was convicted of violations of drug legislation (two convictions) and two traffic offenses."