Casablanca – News stories on rape in Morocco are apparently not vanishing anytime soon. According to the Moroccan daily Akhbar Al Youm in its issue of Monday, a man in his fifties was arrested, this weekend in Fez, for having allegedly raped 70 women and young girls.
According to the same source, the serial rapist was presented this weekend to the Attorney General. He is charged with “robbery, kidnapping and rape under the threat of a knife.”
A judge has initially heard the suspect as well as the testimonies of 28 victims of the region of Fez and Sefrou. The court also expects additional complaints from other victims.
The victims are allegedly from Nador, Missour, Meknes, Khoumissat and have already lodged their complaints via phone calls.
The first 38 victims are aged between 6 and 45 years. The remaining victims have not yet been identified.
Initial reports indicate that the rapist was accustomed to take his victims to deserted locations around Sidi Harazem, in the region of Fez. The suspect had smartly chosen these places, and allegedly had accomplices who facilitated his access to those same locations where he committed his crimes.
The accomplices have not yet been identified, according to the same source.
The suspect is a 50-year-old father of three. He lived in France before returning to settle in a popular area of Saiss region, near Fez. He spent most of his days driving around, scanning bus stops and other places in search of his potential, unfortunate victims.
According to a police report, the suspect then suggested to drop his victims wherever they wanted by his car. He subsequently took them to his pre-selected locations, where he raped and robbed them of all their possessions.
Following the same stream of argumentation in a previous article on this phenomenon, Morocco is increasingly becoming “rapist’s haven,” as police authority is absent in some major areas where such crimes are known to be concentrated.
While the new legislations against sexual harassment are currently under governmental scrutiny, the Moroccan civil society demands that the government double efforts in combating major crimes in the kingdom, including rape and violence against children.
