French prosecutors called on Thursday for a 12-year jail sentence to be handed down to a former mechanic employed by the United Nations who is charged with raping about 20 African girls.
Didier Bourguet, a 44-year-old French national, is accused of raping the girls aged between 12 and 18 while posted in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo between 1998 and 2004.
Bourguet, who was responsible for the maintenance of UN peacekeeping vehicles, admitted during the trial to having paid sex with the girls, but insisted they had consented.
French state prosecutor Pierre Kramer rejected his defence and said Bourguet showed “an absence of compassion for his victims” living in harsh economic conditions.
While Bourguet said he did not force the girls to have sex with him, Kramer argued that they were “under duress given their age and the economic context” of their countries.
The prosecution asked the Paris court to sentence him to 12 years in prison and order him to seek mandatory treatment upon release for an additional period of eight years.
Bourguet is charged with rape, abuse of minors and possession of pornographic material, crimes punishable with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors told the court that Bourguet sought out girls through go-betweens during his postings in the Central African Republic from 1998 to 2001 and in the DRC from 2001 to 2004.
One of the victims, a Congolese girl now aged 16 and living in Canada, told the court she had been abused after being served a cup of tea that had made her dizzy.
A police officer testified that Bourguet had engaged in sexual acts with about 24 girls, paying between $10 and $20 each time.
Lawyer Emmanuel Daoud representing one of the victims said the case was symbolic. Between 15 000 and 20 000 rapes are committed each year in the DRC by soldiers, rebels and, sometimes, UN personnel, he said.
DRC police arrested Bourguet in the eastern city of Goma in October 2004 and turned him over to French authorities. – AFP