Manslaughter Verdict in the Drowning of British Schoolgirl

A lifeguard and the French council he worked for have been found guilty of the manslaughter of Jessica Lawson, a 12-year-old British schoolgirl who drowned during a school trip.

Jessica Lawson, from East Yorkshire, tragically died in July 2015 when a pontoon in a lake near Limoges, France, overturned. On Wednesday, judges at the city's appeal court ruled that Leo Lemaire, the lifeguard on duty, and Liginiac Town Hall were criminally responsible for "manslaughter through a clearly deliberate violation of an obligation of providing safety or prudence."

Leo Lemaire, the 30-year-old swimming supervisor, received a suspended eight-month prison sentence. The Liginiac council was fined €20,000 (£17,000). Both parties were ordered to jointly pay damages to Jessica's parents, Tony and Brenda Lawson, who now live in Portugal.

The damages amounted to €40,000 (£33,000) for "moral damage," €15,000 (£12,000) for "anxiety," and another €15,000 (£12,000) for the "suffering" the family endured.

The judges criticized Lemaire for his lack of vigilance and condemned the council for not putting up signs warning of the dangers of swimming off the pontoon.

In October 2022, three teachers from Wolfreton School, near Hull, which Jessica attended, and Lemaire were acquitted of manslaughter. Jessica's family, unsatisfied with the verdict, continued to seek justice.

Following the start of the appeal trial, Jessica's father, Tony Lawson, 63, expressed his continued grief, stating, "Nine years ago I put my daughter on a school bus and she was not returned to me and I still don't know why."

In an attempt to rebuild their lives after the devastating loss, Mr. and Mrs. Lawson emigrated to Portugal in 2017.