Netflix viewers have been left "sickened" by a shocking new documentary
This week, the streaming service uploaded the four-part series titled The Outreau Case: A French Nightmare, which explores one of the most unsettling criminal cases in France.
In the early 2000s, an investigation into potential sexual abuse was launched after schoolteachers and social workers noticed strange behavior from four children in the Delay-Badaoui family, who lived in the La Tour du Renard neighborhood of the Outreau.
The children's parents, Myriam Badaoui and Thierry Delay, admitted to the allegations of abusing her four children - who at that time were aged between seven and 11 - and later began exposing the names of neighbors, friends, and other citizens of the town who participated in the heinous acts.
Watch a clip from The Outreau Case: A French Nightmare below:
Eventually, there were a total of 18 adults accused of the sexual assaults, including a priest who lived in their apartment building, a court bailiff from a neighboring town, his wife, a taxi driver and a laborer, and his son, according to Metro. However, Badaoui later retracted her accusations, telling the court she was a "sick woman and a liar," per Forbes.
The docu-series charts the subsequent trials that unfolded, including confessions, public reaction, widespread media attention, wrongful convictions, and the death of one accused man, François Mourmand, while awaiting trial.
It also features one of the four sons, Jonathan Delay, who bravely stepped forward to discuss the nightmare he had to go through.
The documentary sparked outrage on social media, with viewers taking to X (formerly Twitter) to question the handling of the case by French authorities.
One fan expressed their thoughts on the series, writing: "The Outreau case on Netflix is so disgusting I couldn’t even stomach the first episode."
Another stunned viewer chimed in: "Just started watching ‘The Outreau Case: A French Nightmare’ on Netflix and the sheer depravity of what’s unfolding on my screen has left me speechless."
A third said: "Watched the #Outreau docu on Netflix and just wonder if in France it is even possible to be convicted of ch*ld ab*se. Having lawyers question children as young as that? Are you mad? The way the lawyers were talking about these children and their stories made me SICK."
"The Outreau Case: a French Nightmare on Netflix is p***ing me off so bad. It’s some extremely sick mathaf***as in this world," a fourth commented.
"Watched the #OUTREAU case on #NetFlix & I’m disgusted at how this was handled, stemming from how the children were questioned to the acquittal of the accused! Just cause the mom recanted, doesn’t erase the many, MANY details of all the horrific acts recalled by so many victims!" one more added.
Forbes reported that the documentary was the ninth most-watched non-English show in the week of March 11 to March 17. It also amassed up to 4.4 million hours viewed in its first three days.
After two trials, 13 of the group were acquitted and received the largest compensation ever paid by the French state. Meanwhile, the parents were convicted, with Delay being sent to prison for 20 years, while Badaoui received a 15-year sentence.
The mom was later released for health reasons but eventually imprisoned again for theft and writing bad checks. Meanwhile, her husband was released in 2016 but four years later he was behind bars for sex abuse charges.
You can watch The Outreau Case: A French Nightmare on Netflix now.
