Rabat – The gendarmerie has arrested a teacher in the rural village of Sidi Ali, near the eastern city of Errachidia, for pedophilia after sexually assaulting 12 school children.
The arrest, on Saturday, April 24, occurred after the parents of the children filed legal complaints against the 40-year-old teacher. Following his arrest, the teacher confessed to the accusations against him.
The judiciary has launched an investigation to determine further victims since the teacher worked in the same school for over 10 years.
The incident brings to mind a similar case that occurred in the city of El Hajeb, near Meknes. On April 8, the police arrested a French-language primary school teacher for pedophilia against four schoolgirls.
The arrest took place after the parents of a school girl filed a complaint against the teacher, and then three other parents learned that their children were also sexually assaulted.
Sexual assault in university
Similar to primary schools, sexual assault and harassment are widespread in Moroccan universities either by male teachers against female students or against their female colleagues.
Sexual harassment inside Moroccan universities was the subject of an investigation conducted by Naima Benouakrim, a member of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH).
Benouakrim revealed that verbal abuse and sexual harassment against female university teachers are prevalent by male colleagues. The practice has a lasting mental impact on victims that may lead to the end of their studies, the CNDH activist said in an interview with the Moroccan Think Tank Policy Center For New South.
This is an alarming indicator that should serve as a wake-up call for officials to take effective measures to combat sexual assault in Moroccan educational institutions and set up mechanisms to assess and examine their effectiveness, concluded Benouakirm.
