Six French Religious of Roman Rite to Appear in Court
The hearing will initially take place before a single judge. However, prosecutors are expected to request that the case be transferred to a panel of judges, citing the complexity of the proceedings. According to lawyer Étienne Thieffry, the first hearing will likely focus primarily on procedural questions.
The Congrégation de Riaumont is a religious community founded in the 1960s in northern France, centered on a boarding school for boys. Its members are oblates associated with the Benedictine Abbey of Fontgombault that follows the Roman rite.
Nature of the Charges
The six accused men - including three priests, one of whom is the community’s former prior, Alain Hocquemiller - are charged under French law with “violence against minors under fifteen by a person in a position of authority.”
Prosecutors say more than thirty victims, now adults or older adolescents, are involved in the case.
Former pupils have described a disciplinary environment involving corporal punishment, including slaps, blows and other physical sanctions imposed as disciplinary measures.
One former pupil said that he was kicked in the head, causing his eardrum to rupture.
Investigators argue that such practices crossed the line from strict discipline into criminal abuse of minors.
Separate Judicial Investigations
The trial scheduled in Béthune concerns physical violence. Other judicial proceedings linked to the Riaumont environment are separate. Those investigations have examined allegations of sexual assault and an alleged rape in contexts connected to the community, including scouting activities.
In 2025, the former prior Hocquemiller was convicted for consulting child-pornography images online. He appealed the conviction and the case is still pending.
Canonical Measures by the Church
Parallel to the civil proceedings, the Catholic Church has launched canonical investigations into three Riaumont priests.
Following a canonical visitation, Bishop Olivier Leborgne of Arras announced in January a series of measures affecting the community.
He acted in coordination with Abbot Jean Pateau of Fontgombault.
The measures require the community to:
- reassess its charism within one year,
- abandon its educational mission, which had centered on the Riaumont children’s village, and
- adopt an “extremely humble attitude” in public communication, including halting its social-media activity.
Bishop Leborgne stated that, given the number of cases involving the community, “the educational dimension is no longer possible.”
#newsQhydpexlqo