Fez- A Spanish tourist was stoned by several people on Monday in Marrakesh after allegedly being caught raping a child.
About 30 minutes before Iftar, several passersby in the Red City caught a Spanish man raping a child near the Court of Appeals in Chetoui district of Marrakesh.
The citizens attacked the foreign pedophile by throwing stones on him.A security patrol happened to come upon the incident. Policemen saw the man encircled by a group of people who were throwing stones at him, and immediately saved him from the angry citizens’ hands, according to Al-Massae.
According to the same source, the Spanish tourist denied abusing the child. However, after few hours of questioning, the suspect admitted to raping the child. The victim also confirmed the Spanish tourist’s admission.
The suspect was believed to have testified before the Solicitor General at the court of first instance on Wednesday in Marrakesh.
Recently, the number of pedophilia cases in Morocco has grown, especially in Marrakesh. Moroccan human rights organizations say that this increase could be explained by the light sentences handed down to convicted pedophiles. Many say these sentences seem to encourage pedophilia.
On July 17, the court of appeals in Marrakesh sentenced a 57-year-old pedophile to only two years in prison after he was caught sexually abusing a 10-year-old child.
Following this disappointing court ruling, Najia Adib, President of the Moroccan association Don’t Touch My Child said that the Moroccan courts should make penalties harsher for convicted pedophiles in order to stop the rise in the sexual exploitation of children.
Under Moroccan criminal law, sex offenders are punished by up to 30 years in prison.
Edited by Timothy Filla