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Child sex trial opens in France
Dozens of men and women accused of the rape and abuse of children have gone on trial in one of the biggest court cases in France's legal history. The trial, which involves 66 defendants, is taking place in a specially built hall in the town of Angers in western France. More than 60 lawyers are taking part and the prosecution case runs to 430 pages, the French news agency AFP reports.There are 45 alleged child victims. The oldest was aged 14 and the youngest just six months. Of the 66 defendants, 39 face charges of raping children under 15 and of pimping. A total of 39 men and 27 women are going on trial. The crimes could incur jail terms ranging up to 30 years. The crimes allegedly took place between June 1999 and February 2002 in Angers' Saint-Leonard district. The prosecution says most were perpetrated in the flat of a former convicted sex offender and in sheds on garden allotments. The crimes reportedly came to light when investigators monitored the activities of another convicted sex offender released in 1999. The two men allegedly ran the paedophile ring. Nearly all the defendants were living on welfare benefits. "Parents of one kid sold her for a new car tyre," said lawyer Philippe Cosnard, quoted by the AFP news agency. Other children were allegedly bartered for small sums of money, food or cigarettes. A girl of 10 was allegedly raped by more than 30 adults. Prosecutors say more than half of the accused have admitted their guilt. But the prosecution hopes to avoid any repetition of the errors that plagued a previous high-profile paedophile trial - the Outreau case in northern France last year. In that case, the accused spent months in prison awaiting trial and 13 people were implicated on the testimony of a woman who later admitted she had been lying. Posted by: tipper 2005-03-03 |
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