The testimonies of two young girls, who denounced their grandfather for sexual harassment and rape when they were 8 years old, are chilling.

The cousins ​​spoke to the rtl television network about what happened, but also about their indignation as, as they say, Belgian justice does not seem to be concerned with their issue.

Melissa is 26 today, her cousin Julie is 24 and for many years they were hesitant and ashamed to talk about what happened.

“18 years ago, my maternal grandfather abused me. I only slept at his house once, and that was enough…,” confesses Melissa, returning to 2005 when she was just 8 years old.

He goes on to say that he would sleep in the living room, but eventually “he (grandfather) made me sleep in his bed. He started touching me, pulling down my pants… I said no, I’ll catch a cold, but he continued».

“He started going down with his hands, then his mouth. It was very fast, but at the same time very… And the next day, we left for Urt” he remembers, adding that her grandfather told her this was their “little secret” and they shouldn’t say anything.

For Julie, events unfolded much the same way, she says. She was abused twice by her grandfather. She was also 8-9 years old and had to sleep with her grandfather: “He told me I would sleep with him. But sleeping with your grandpa doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing! Normally … He started putting his hand on me, then he went down to my underwear. And he did the same with his mouth“, describes Julie.

26-year-old Melissa decided to speak up a few months ago. Julie quickly follows her. Then her sister. The three decided to file a lawsuit on June 28 to get justice.

However, as they say since then, there is silence fish. Melissa expresses her frustration that despite the three complaints against their grandfather, justice does not proceed.

“This man is now 74 years old, so unless justice is done quickly, he will end his days at home peacefully while we, the victims, are tarnished“, he says.

The television network, in an attempt to understand how the process works in the event of a complaint of sexual violence, spoke to Marion De Nandeille, lawyer in criminal law. She explains that once the complaint is made, the police will open a file which will be forwarded to the competent prosecutor’s office. Subsequently, investigative tasks will be carried out to further investigate the events reported.

That so little information is given to victims is due to “confidentiality of information»he explains.

He points out that “The information is confidentialthat is, we will not be able to inform the victims directly about the various investigative tasks that are being ordered.

But, in the beginning, in the cases involving sexual violence, we will contact the public prosecutor’s assistance service for victims (SAPV), who will share the information with the victim when a decision is made about the consequences of a case, e.g. “sorting without continuity” or “a decision to take him to court” etc. But beyond that, no information is given”, she explains.