Wednesday 10 September 2008

Stéphane Moitoiret suspected of attempted abduction in 2006

BOURG-EN-BRESSE, 10th September 2008 (AFP) - We have learned from a judicial source that on Wednesday an investigation for attempted abduction of a child in 2006, in the Vienne département, was referred to the Bourg-en-Bresse prosecutor, regarding Stéphane Moitoiret, the prime suspect in the murder of little Valentin in Ain, at the end of July.

The Bourg-en-Bresse Prosecutor, Jean-Paul Gandolière, told AFP that the Poitiers Prosecutor had handed over an investigation which he had opened following the attempted abduction of a child in the summer of 2006, in the Vienne département, which might be the work of Moitoiret. He did not wish to give any further details of that case, which will now be the responsibility of the research section of the Lyon gendarmerie, which is already investigating little Valentin's murder.

According to sources close to the investigation, in August 2006, Stéphane Moitoiret allegedly attempted to abduct a 5 year-old boy, also called Valentin, in a Vienne village, just outside a room where there had been a wedding the previous day. A woman, who was supervising the children in the room where the festivities had taken place, had noticed Moitoiret trying to take him away.

The dropout allegedly stated that the child was a, "chosen one," and that was the reason he was taking him away. A few days later, Moitoiret allegedly even returned with his partner to offer money in exchange for the child.

Someone from the same source added that in addition to the witness statement of the woman who prevented the abduction, and who had recognised the couple of dropouts thanks to e-fit sketches published in the press, their presence in the region at that time was confirmed by local officials who had recorded their names. This is the first link between Valentin's murder and other potentially criminal acts, but the wandering of the dropout couple is leading the investigators to look at all similar unresolved acts in recent years. (AFP)

France-info 10/09/08

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