Kindergarten employee and French man get 5 years each for paedophilia

The court of appeal of Rabat on Monday evening sentenced, in two separate cases, to five years in jail and a fine of 30,000 MAD (US$ 3,333) an employee of a Rabat kindergarten for raping a child and handed out a similar prison term against a 53-year old French national, accused of raping over 10 teens.

The kindergarten employee had already stood trial at the first instance court which delivered a 2-year prison sentence and a fine of 10,000 MAD (over US$ 1,100). The French 53-year old man had been sentenced to 10 years.

A victim's mother told the press she expected a sentence of at least 15 years and said it is unfair to clear the school where her son sustained sexual assaults.

An association was created in 2004 to support and help the victim's family and conduct awareness campaigns among families who experienced the same ordeal.

The French defendant was also ordered to pay 20,000 MAD (over US$ 2,200) to each victim. His Moroccan accomplice got a 4-year prison sentence for failure to denounce a crime.

The French national, who owned two schools in Rabat, used to rape teens, including homeless kids, in his house in the suburbs of Rabat.

Reacting to the verdict, chairwoman of the Moroccan association for support of children in a precarious situation (AMESIP) said the sentence reduction is unfair, given the serious harms sustained by the children who suffered all kinds of sexual exploitation.