French police arrested a 42-year-old African migrant in Nogaro this week following allegations he has raped and sexually and physically abused 28 children, including two infants, in his home since 2017.
The 42-year-old, who is said to be a migrant originally from the Ivory Coast, allegedly began the sexual abuse in 2017 after inviting a woman to live with him, who was later followed by three other women aged 32 to 42, all of whom have French citizenship.
The women are said to have engaged in sexual activity with the 42-year-old and lived with him along with their 28 children.
The children were reportedly sexually abused and also physically abused, with allegations the African tortured two infants who were each just two years old.
The abuse became known to police after one of the women decided to leave the house and reported the migrant for acts of kidnapping, sexual abuse, and violence. According to the newspaper La Depeche, the migrant is said to be a Muslim who has become radicalised.
Christian Peyret, mayor of the commune of Nogaro, stated that the children had been enrolled in a local public school and had integrated but were shy regarding their private lives. He also claimed that he thought the home had been rented by the four women and did not know a man lived there.
“It was the four women who rented the house. Nobody knew him, he didn’t go out, he seemed to be hiding,” he said.
A local supervisor at the primary school stated the children were reserved and stated, “When we asked them if they were brothers and sisters, they didn’t know how to answer us.”
Last year, three of the five women were questioned by the school over the behaviour of their children, who are also said to have worn long-fitting clothing that may have hid any abuse that was taking place.
Following the arrest of the 42-year-old, investigators have moved to conduct DNA tests on him and the victims in order to determine if any of the children are his.
The victims have since been removed from the home and placed into foster care or in homes while the migrant was indicted by prosecutors on Thursday on charges of sexual abuse of minors and held in pre-trial detention.
Three of the four women were also arrested and charged with failing to report crimes, while the woman who reported the abuse was not charged.