Slaps, punches... a 9-year-old girl with epilepsy violently assaulted by a stranger

A shocking scene of violence unfolded on Tuesday evening in Barkly. A nine-year-old girl was violently assaulted by a man, witnessed helplessly by her mother. Since then, the young girl has been hospitalized.

Marie-Françoise Zéphyr, 41, recounts the horror she experienced on the evening of October 28. Her 9-year-old daughter was brutally beaten by a man, and is currently in the hospital. The police have been alerted and are searching for the suspect, a man well-known in the Barkly neighborhood.

According to the mother, around 7:30 PM, a man approximately 45 years old, named Jonathan J., came to her home in a state of great anger. He accused her daughter Hemma of hitting his son. "He came knocking on the door, saying my daughter hit his son. I explained to him that my daughter was with her father. We went together to talk calmly..." recounts the mother, her voice trembling. However, this supposedly calm discussion escalated. As they approached the home of the girl's father in Résidence Jasmin, Barkly, Hemma was just coming towards them. "He grabbed my daughter by her hair and slapped her in the face. Then he started hitting her, punching her in the stomach and piling on top of her. My child even urinated on herself! His wife said it was necessary to beat her, to hit her again," the mother continued, still shaken.

In trying to protect her daughter, Marie-Françoise Zéphyr was also pushed and slapped in the face. "I told him not to hit my child like that. He turned and slapped me and insulted me," she added. The attacker then fled, leaving her alone with her injured and crying child on the pavement.

Rushed to Dr. A.G. Jeetoo Hospital, the young girl was admitted for medical observation. Doctors confirmed that she had bruises on her stomach and face, but her condition is stable. Hemma has been suffering from epilepsy for three years and is undergoing treatment. The Barkly police have opened an investigation into the assault on a minor. No arrests had been made at the time of writing this article. The relevant authorities have also been notified of the case.

In the neighborhood, this incident has sparked outrage. Several neighbors are questioning the lack of immediate response and are calling for justice for little Hemma. Meanwhile, fear has settled over the family.

"I haven't slept since yesterday. My daughter is crying, she tells me she’s scared, she sees that man everywhere... We don't feel safe," the mother confided, her voice broken. For now, the priority remains the health of the girl. "She is too young to go through this. All I want is for her to get justice and for no one else to have to suffer like this - for no other child to endure such violence. You can't hit a child like that," lamented a family friend.