A former French intelligence officer has been charged and imprisoned in eastern France on suspicion of ordering child rapes in Africa, particularly in Kenya, prosecutors said Saturday.
The man was arrested on Monday and was remanded in custody on Friday, Strasbourg public prosecutor Clarisse Taron told France's AFP news agency.
The 58-year-old man, who is retired from the military, was charged with "aggravated human trafficking," "rape and sexual assault of minors," and "capture, import, and dissemination of a pornographic image of a minor," according to the daily newspaper Le Parisien, which first reported the case.
He is suspected of having ordered the rape of children in Africa, particularly in Kenya, which he visited for work, and "of having paid for and remotely orchestrated sexual abuse, filmed scenes that he then consumed to satisfy his criminal urges," the newspaper said.
The videos were spotted online by a US-based foundation fighting child sex crimes, which then alerted the French police.
There has been a recent rise in live-streamed child abuse in which children are sexually exploited at the request of clients, often based in Western countries. Scenes are broadcast in real time or recorded for online consumption.
Last month a 55-year-old Frenchman suspected of commissioning online pedophile crimes in Colombia was arrested and charged in France.
Frenchman charged with commissioning online pedophile crimes in Colombia
(with AFP)
