The judicial police in Tangier apprehended a French man, 53, while he was in the act of raping a 13-year-old boy.
Rabat – Another rape case of a minor in the Moroccan city of Tangier is causing an uproar in Morocco.
The sexual scandal involves a 53-year-old French man who sexually assaulted an under-aged boy of 13.
Tangier judicial authorities apprehended the culprit, while he was in the middle of the crime in an apartment he rented in the Ibn El Banna’e residence area.
His arrest came after one of the victim’s cousins disclosed the crime to the police.
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Police placed the convict under police custody, while they entrusted the rape victim to his parents on orders of the examining magistrate.
Rape is punishable by five to ten years imprisonment under Article 486 of the Moroccan Penal Code.
However, another law of the Moroccan Penal Code, Article 475, allows rapists to dodge prison sentences by marrying their victims. Despite reforms, Morocco has made concerning article 475, a move that was warmly welcomed by human rights organizations, many still believe that the reforms need to go further.
Concerning the current law on rape, human rights organizations point to a pronounced shortcoming in the penal code where rape, as defined in Article 468, is gender-biased, stating that rape occurs when “a man has sexual relations with a woman against her will.” In the wording, it does not take into account that males can be victims.
