A shocking case of child sexual abuse has been brought to light in Morocco by a father who is now demanding justice.
The father, who has chosen to remain anonymous, has said that his two underage children were repeatedly raped by multiple perpetrators in the presence of their mother in a disturbing environment of drugs and orgies.
Speaking to French writer and filmmaker Karl Zero, the father said that he initially filed a complaint on August 24, 2020, after his eight-year-old and six-year-old children confided in him that they were afraid to speak up because they were threatened with a weapon.
Distraught and concerned for his children’s well-being, the father said he sought professional help and took them to see a psychologist. The psychologist confirmed that the children were suffering from anxiety and needed psychological treatment, the father added.
After two months of treatment, the children disclosed to their father that they had been raped by a man. The father then took them to a child psychiatrist, who confirmed that the children had been subjected to sexual abuse for several months and had been threatened.
Moroccan news outlet le 360 reported that the children were raped by several people in the family home, either in the presence or absence of their mother.
The father left his two children with their mother while he went to work in Nador, not knowing what had been happening to his children in his absence until they insisted on returning with him rather than staying in Tangier.
The father is now calling for justice for his children and he is demanding that the perpetrators be brought to account for their heinous crimes.
The Moroccan NGO “Touche pas à mon enfant” (Don’t touch my child) is disseminating the video of the father’s testimony, in an effort to bring attention to the case and urge the government and law enforcement agencies to take adequate action.
While Moroccan authorities have yet to release an official statement regarding the incident, and it is not clear if any arrests have been made, many still hope that swift action will be taken to bring the perpetrators to justice and provide support to the victims and their families.
A wave of anger and protest erupted in Morocco last month following a court ruling that handed out a lenient prison sentence to three child rapists who had impregnated an 11-year-old girl in the northwestern Moroccan town of Tiflet.
The verdict, which many have deemed unjust, triggered outrage among activists and ordinary Moroccans alike, prompting many to take to social media and launch the hashtag “#What kind of justice is this?” to voice their discontent.
In response to the public backlash, the Rabat Appeal Court increased the prison sentences against the three men who had been found guilty of gang-raping and impregnating Sanae to 10 to 20 years in prison.
