900.000€ of Rubber Checks, a Battered Boy and Homophobic Night Club Assault Keep Monaco’s Courts Busy

Fearful 12-year-old Boy Needs Protection from a Violent Step-Father 

It took the Department of Education alerted by staff at school to detect and report a problem of violence suffered by a 12 year old boy, call him David, who seemed scared whenever an adult approached. And he had inexplicable injuries to his arms, hand and wrist. On investigation it became clear that the injuries had been inflicted by his “stepfather”, call him John, who was cohabiting with his mother. The boy had been battered and left with a broken hand, an injured wrist and badly bruised arms needing over a week of recovery. John, the “stepfather” now faced the court trying to make light of the episode as a sort of manly game for virile males that got a little out of control. 12 year old David had been taken into protective care for a while until being found a safe refuge with his grandparents. 

The Court did not take the matter as lightly as the accused, giving him an 18 month suspended prison sentence and forbidding him to approach the boy …. and in addition he would have to indemnify the victim. As for 12 year old David he was credited with being very mature and reported to now be feeling unafraid, safe and faring better. 

900.000€ in Luxury Watches Fraudulently Bought with Bounced Checks! 

A cunning ruse worked well to gain the confidence of a high-end retailer of luxury watches and jewellery in Monte Carlo. The first transactions of watches and jewellery went like clockwork – several items bought and paid-for making the eventual criminal a “prized client” by the merchant. With this VIP-client status the culprit then undertook major purchases not much short of 900.000 euros including at least 10 of the most expensive luxury watches on the market. The retailer was caught off-guard having accepted 5 checks in payment from who he thought was a bone fide client. He got an unpleasant surprise when all the checks bounced. In fact, the account they were drawn on had been closed. It turned out that the perpetrator of this fraud already had a criminal record in France for among other offenses handling stolen goods. And his affairs in Monaco were in disarray with a trail of financial problems …. unpaid rents etc. The fraudulently acquired luxury watches could therefore not easily be extricated from the mess and recovered by the Monte Carlo retailer. The criminal had already fled the coop before the court case – so the Court issued an arrest warrant which would be circulated internationally. Once back in Monaco the culprit would have to serve a year in prison for his misdeeds. 

Spurned by Girls, a Vengeful Assault on Their Homosexual Friend 

A homosexual youth escorting two girlfriends exited a Monaco nightclub at 6am only to be harried by two twenty-year-old tipsy students who also wanted to try to flirt with his companions. Spurned by the young ladies the encounter turned sour with the result that the homosexual youth was violently roughed up and pushed to the ground. Allegedly the two aggressors also hurled a relay of homophobic insults at the victim. Three days in jail awaiting trial did not seem to make the culprits remorseful. They vigorously contested the evidence, including the testimony of witnesses and cameras. The two aggressors claimed self-defense and denied making homophobic insults; and complained about their treatment during the three-day incarceration. 

The judge however was clear that the evidence, including their own statements, pointed to guilt.  A 6 month suspended prison sentence for each of the 20 year olds would, in the judge’s opinion, demonstrate that Monaco was serious about allowing its visitors the freedom to walk around without fear of being assaulted or insulted.