A young girl died after she was swept away during school trips to France. Her parents were devastated and wept as the three British teacher accused of manslaughter were cleared.
Jessica Lawson, 12, died when a pontoon capsized in a lake at Maury park in Liginiac, near Limoges, in July 2015.
This was the youngest child of 24 from Wolfreton school in Willerby near Hull. She had been swimming in the lake and became stuck in the water, drowning.
Teachers Steven Layne, Chantelle Lewis and Daisy Stathers, along with lifeguard Leo Lemaire, were accused of the French equivalent of manslaughter by gross negligence following the tragedy.
They each faced three years’ imprisonment if convicted, but were yesterday cleared of any wrongdoing by judges at the Palais de Justice in Tulle. In addition, the Liginiac local authority was not found guilty.
After the verdict had been delivered, Jessica’s parents Tony and Brenda, who were devastated by their loss, stood in floods on the steps outside of the court. Tony had been overcome with grief when he walked out the courtroom after the teacher verdict.
After three British teachers were found not guilty of manslaughter, Tony and Brenda Lawson were in tears. Their 12-year-old daughter Jessica Lawson drowned in France on her school trip in 2015. Pictured here: Tony, surrounded by his family at the Palais de Justice (Tulle)
Brenda and Tony Lawson photographed with Jessica Lawson before she tragically died in Limoges (France).
Yesterday, the Palais de Justice was filled with teachers.
Minutes from tragedy: The schoolchildren are seen playing on the pontoon in a lake near Limoges in July 2015 shortly before it capsized. Jessica got trapped under the water and died after her teachers and a lifeguard didn’t spot her.
After being found innocent yesterday, teachers Chantelle Lewis and Steven Layne are seen leaving Palais de Justice in Tulle (central France).
Jessica Lawson (pictured), 12, died when a pontoon capsized in a lake near Limoges in July 2015
Addressing the court, Brenda said: ‘If I’m truthful, listening to people trying to explain here what they did for Jessica, it is not really any clearer because I was expecting those who had a duty of care for her to be open and transparent and to have respect and integrity for her mum in the way they have handled themselves here.’
Her words were followed by, “It has taken seven years for my family to experience what can only have been described as tortureous suffering. We don’t understand what she went through or why.”
Marie-Sophie Waguette, translating, said that the area was being surveyed and was in possession of a lifeguard. The flag was also green.
‘There was no reason to suppose that the floating platform might tip. We don’t know why her drowning took place at the time when the platform turned over.
‘There is therefore no evidence to show that they were negligent – therefore you are found not guilty.’
After Stephane Babonneau (representing Ms Stathers) made a claim regarding how teachers felt following the incident, Jessica’s father left courtroom.
Ms. Lewis was given the opportunity to address the head of jurisdiction in adjourned proceedings. The PE teacher stated that the pain is different to the experiences experienced by the family.
When offered an opportunity, Mr Layne and Mrs Stathers refused to speak.
Florian Godest Le Gal, Ms Lewis’ legal representative said that the reaction times of teachers were as short as possible. However, he added that dynamically monitoring students does not mean looking at every student “every microsecond”.
He said that the PE teacher “suffers under responsibility”.
Anis Harabi was one of the lawyers representing Mr Layne. He stated Jessica’s accidental death had no ‘culprits.’ His client, he added, should not expect to be a ‘clairvoyant.
Harabi stated that Mr Layne was not concerned about it being dangerous as the pool was well-supervised.
Dominique Tricaud (the other lawyer for Mr Layne) said that teachers acted simultaneously when Jessica disappeared and that they were observing ‘tirelessly.
The trial earlier heard how Ms Lewis and Ms Stathers began to ‘panic’ after noticing Jessica was missing, with both becoming emotional on the witness stand.
Layne stated that he considered the pontoon a safety measure and saw no distress after the boat capsized.
The prosecution had asked for three years imprisonment to all three of the teachers.
Layne, Lewis, and Stathers all were cleared of wrongdoing. Leo Lemaire (the lifeguard at the scene) and Liginiac’s local authority weren’t also found guilty.
Jessica, the youngest pupil in her class, tragically drowned during a five-day school trip to France on July 21, 2015
Pictured: Leo Lemaire, who was a lifeguard at the scene, was also found not guilty, after facing three years over Jessica’s Death. This is Leo Lemaire arriving in court Wednesday
Photo: Jessica was killed in the Massif Central Region of France near Meymac.
Jessica, 12, was dead when she passed away. She would be 20 today if she lived.
The tragedy struck while six-day adventure vacation was being planned by three Hull teachers and two dozen students.
Teachers had given permission to the children for them to go swimming in Maury park, Liginiac. They were jumping off a floating pontoon.
Jessica was flown to Limoges by air, but she died shortly after her parents reached their destination.
Brenda Lawson spoke to the court on Tuesday and stated that her family was experiencing ‘torturous suffer’ ever since her daughter’s tragic death.
She was also critical of the British authorities’ response to Jessica’s passing, saying that they had ‘no answers nor help’.
When Mrs Lawson was asked to describe Jessica, she said: “To describe Jessica is really easy. The word sunshine is still a part of my vocabulary. Her life was filled with laughter, joy and love.
She was “just on the brink of becoming a wonderful young lady.”