A 23-year-old man walked into a police station in the southern village of Bellegarde on Tuesday evening to ask police to verify whether he may have committed the sexual assault and murder of a young girl.

"/> A 23-year-old man walked into a police station in the southern village of Bellegarde on Tuesday evening to ask police to verify whether he may have committed the sexual assault and murder of a young girl.

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New suspect in murder of 8-year-old girl

A 23-year-old man walked into a police station in the southern village of Bellegarde on Tuesday evening to ask police to verify whether he may have committed the sexual assault and murder of a young girl.

Published: 9 November 2011 09:23 CET

Eight-year-old Océane went missing on Saturday evening after going to visit a friend. Her body was found in a vineyard on Sunday morning after an extensive search involving police and 300 volunteers.

The autopsy revealed the girl had been sexually molested before being suffocated. She had also been stabbed four times, most likely after her death.

News channel LCI reported that the new suspect is a drug user who is known to police.

Public prosecutor Robert Gelli said the man “couldn’t remember what he did on Saturday evening” as he was drunk. “He had a blackout” he said.

He is being tested for a DNA match and was still being questioned on Wednesday morning.

Earlier, a 73-year-old man who had been held for questioning since Sunday was released after DNA tests revealed no match. The man, a neighbour of the girl’s family, had a previous conviction for sexual assaults on young boys.

Locals told journalists the uncertainty was causing continuing concern in the village of 6,000 inhabitants.

“We are looking at everyone, wondering who it can be. It must be someone from the village,” said one woman, named Véronique, to news channel BFM TV.

Océane’s parents are believed to have left the village to stay with relatives. A march in memory of the girl will be held on Wednesday.

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French parliament to investigate sexual abuse in cinema

The Assemblée nationale unanimously agreed to set up the commission demanded by actor Judith Godreche in a speech to the upper house, the Senate, in February.

The 52-year-old actor and director has become a key figure in France’s MeToo movement since accusing directors Benoit Jacquot and Jacques Doillon of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager. Both have denied the allegations.

All 52 lawmakers present for the vote on Thursday approved the creation of the commission, watched by Godreche, who was present in the public gallery in the chamber.

“It’s time to stop laying out the red carpet for abusers,” said Greens lawmaker Francesca Pasquini.

The new commission is to look into “the condition of minors in the various sectors of cinema, television, theatre, fashion and advertising”, as well as that of adults working in them, it said.

On the basis of Godreche’s proposal, a parliamentary commission on culture decided to extend the scope of the inquiry to also include other cultural sectors.

It is to “identify the mechanisms and failings that allow these potential abuses and violences”, “establish responsibilities” and make recommendations.

The parliament vote comes a day after actor Isild Le Besco, 41, said in an autobiography she was also raped by Jacquot during a relationship that started when she was 16, but was not ready to press charges.

Godreche, by contrast, has filed a legal complaint against the prominent arthouse director, over alleged abuse that occurred during a relationship that began when she was 14 and he was 25 years her senior.

She has also formally accused Doillon of abusing her as a 15-year-old actress in a film he directed.

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