A 22-year-old male has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for a sexual assault on a 9-year-old minor and for possession of child pornography, it has emerged.
The defendant had appeared before the Cahors Criminal Court at the end of April.
As initially reported by La Dépêche newspaper, the events date back to April 24, 2020, in Cahors. The court heard how the defendant interacted with a child playing at the bottom of a building in Terre Rouge, a neighborhood where the defendant, born in Iran and now of Afghan nationality, lived in social housing.
Looking for the football field, the little boy agreed to follow the Afghan man. The court determined that when in front of the field, the defendant asked the child to show him his genitals, promising him a gaming console in return. The child accepted the proposal before changing his mind and refusing, resulting in the accused taking his penis out of his shorts and asking the child to masturbate him. The child obeyed.
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Meanwhile, the child’s father noticed his son’s disappearance and began searching for him. When found later that evening, the child confided in his mother about the assault, who subsequently filed a complaint the following day.
The alleged perpetrator, assisted by an interpreter, spoke at the hearing of scheming and blackmail: “If you give me €10,000, I won’t go to the police,” the boy’s mother allegedly told him.
The investigation revealed the complex migratory journey of the accused, with his asylum request first rejected by the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA), and later deportation from Sweden. Nevertheless, like many migrants who are deported or have their asylum request rejected, the perpetrator remained in Europe.
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In Afghan culture, child molestation is common, and even has its own term in the Afghan language, known as “Bacha bazi,” which translates to “boy play” in English. In an extensive report for the New York Times, U.S. soldiers who complained about widespread child sexual abuse from their Afghan allies were ignored or told to keep quiet. In a startling example of how common it is for children to be raped in Afghanistan, in just three schools in the rural countryside, 165 children reported being raped or sexually abused, often by principals, teachers and other authorities.
‘Where he comes from, pornographic images on cell phones are common’
A search of the house of the accused found shorts which revealed traces of sperm and DNA, and an examination of his cell phone found 71 child pornography files featuring little boys.
The defendant fiercely denied the charges, telling the court that he has a brother and sister in Afghanistan who are a similar age to the child.
“I would never have done that,” he insisted. His psychiatric examination revealed no pathology.
The man has already served one year in prison prior to his conviction, but is now no longer in has a home, and currently sleeps on the street or among homeless shelters. His attorney, Mr. Belou, has expressed fear for the man’s safety on the street.
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“He comes from a country with no sexual majority. You have to consider the cultural difference and the psychological background,” his attorney said. “Where he comes from, pornographic images on cell phones are common. He comes from this chaos, which is that of his country.
“If you follow the requisitions of the prosecution, he will have to return to Afghanistan. And this is the main punishment of this case.”
The young victim reported a post-traumatic emotional shock with a feeling of guilt and shame, and his lawyer requested €2,000 in compensation.
The court found the Afghan man guilty, sentenced him to 30 months in prison, and subsequently banned him from returning to France and participating in any activity involving minors. The court also ordered his registration with the FJAIS (database for sex offenders) and ordered the defendant to pay a €2,000 fine to the litigant for non-pecuniary damage.
