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A 43-year-old man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison in France after violently assaulting a 7-year-old boy and later tear-gassing the child’s family during a late-night altercation.
The Beauvais court also revoked a three-month suspended sentence and imposed a five-year ban on possessing a weapon.
The attack occurred on Aug. 2. Heavily intoxicated at the time, Salim Bouzaknoun reportedly lifted the child into the air and strangled him on the street until the boy vomited. The incident left visible marks on the child’s neck. In court, Bouzaknoun attempted to justify the assault by claiming the boy had insulted him.
“He insulted me with all the names under the sun. So, I went to talk to him, I took him by the collar and shook him a little so that he would understand,” Bouzaknoun told the Court, according to Courrier Picard. “He is agitated and not very well educated, but in no way did I want to hurt him.”
Witnesses and the child’s injuries contradicted his version of events.
“He’s putting himself on the same level as a 7-year-old child, which raises serious questions,” the prosecutor remarked.
Later that evening, the boy’s parents returned to Bouzaknoun’s residence with their son and daughter to demand an explanation. Bouzaknoun responded by spraying them with tear gas. The family was forced to take refuge in their car and call the police.
He claimed he was defending himself, stating that the father hit him first and that he feared for his safety: “He punched me in the face, on my broken jaw… he stank of alcohol and I got scared.”
Despite the violence, Bouzaknoun claimed to be close to the family, stating, “His mother is a childhood friend.” He suggested the child’s alleged insults may have been linked to a broken promise: “I told him I would bring him a Morocco jersey with Achraf Hakimi on it. He had already called me a liar for that.”
Bouzaknoun admitted to drinking but downplayed his alcoholism, blaming it on unemployment, social isolation, a difficult breakup, and poor influences. “My drinking is more social than addictive,” he said. On the day of the assault, he had already been arrested for public drunkenness.
The court was not persuaded. The public prosecutor highlighted his extensive criminal record, including 16 prior convictions, nine of them for violent offenses.
Bouzaknoun also remains under a court-imposed ban on carrying weapons.
