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| Europe |
| Child sex trial opens in France |
| 2005-03-03 |
| 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 |
| #7 I'm already seeing the liberal spin that "The couple at the centre of the trial were themselves both sexually abused as children." So, they're victims, which makes them morally superior, and who are we to criticize them? I'm going to be one of those judgemental Americans and say this is not "sick." This is not something for which you get therapy. It's downright evil. OK, it wasn't as many people as Auschwitz or the Ukraine, but on a personal scale it was. These children, these infants were sent through Hell for the pleasure of these evil-doers. I am normally opposed to the death penalty for rape itself (unless the rapist murders the victim as a witness), but I'd make an exception here. I wish these "people" were visiting in the Southwest. I don't think you'd find a jury willing to convict someone of killing them. I sure wouldn't. They need killin'. Oh, and note they were all on welfare, which presumably means there were lots of social workers "helping" them cope. Don't ever tell Me that we need the government to seize children from parents who spank their children or are Christian Scientists or whatever. If the welfare case workers didn't stop something of this nature from happening over three years, they have no business doing anything except cleaning out their desks. Ah, hell, let the God-damned Jihadis take over the miserable excuse for a country. We'll nuke the place and get rid of all the filth at once. |
| Posted by: jackal 2005-03-03 10:59:23 PM |
| #6 and the youngest just six months Disgusting and fucking twisted. |
| Posted by: JerseyMike 2005-03-03 6:09:22 PM |
| #5 Way beyound perversion.Sick does not begin to describe it. |
| Posted by: Raptor 2005-03-03 5:13:02 PM |
| #4 6 months old? I feel ill suddenly... (notice no mention of country of origin or religion.) |
| Posted by: Charles 2005-03-03 12:54:26 PM |
| #3 Google or "Wiki" (my source for just about everything) Marc Dutroux. If the network rumors in both Belgium and France are true, I wouldn't be surprised if they're one and the same -- or for that matter if such has anything to do with their governments' bad tendencies ... |
| Posted by: Gleresh Cravimble3971 2005-03-03 12:04:31 PM |
| #2 Six months. They raped not a child but a baby. There is no hell hot enough for them. And no a jail term is NOT an adequate punishment. |
| Posted by: JFM 2005-03-03 11:24:37 AM |
| #1 Is in any wonder why they support the UN? Brussels had a problem, too, IIRC. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2005-03-03 10:47:39 AM |