Professor sentenced in Tahiti

A computer science professor from the University of Paris-France (UPF) was sentenced on Wednesday by the correctional court in Tahiti to four years in prison, with two years suspended, for charges including the prostitution of minors, attempted sexual assault, and providing alcohol and drugs to teenagers.

Defendant denied allegations

The defendant denied the allegations and referred to the minors as "squatters." He avoided pre-trial detention, and the court president countered his claim by stating, "You say they are squatters, but it was you who brought them home!"

Case handled by advocacy group

The case was taken up by the Action Against Prostitution Team (EACP), an association founded in 1971. During her closing argument, Me Béatrice Eyrignoux from EACP stated that the victims were in a "psychological precariousness" and "great destitution."

Prosecutor condemned exploitation

The public prosecutor emphasized that the trial involved the "exploitation of the precariousness and vulnerability of these young girls," denouncing a "repeated mode of operation" by a man with a "sexual deviation with a fixed attraction to young girls just beginning puberty." The prosecutor requested a five-year prison sentence, two of which would be suspended, along with a ban on working with minors or in the public sector.

Defense challenged charges

The professor's lawyer, Me Marie Eftimie-Spitz, defended her client, stating that his home had become a "refuge" for the minors and that he had never committed inappropriate acts. She challenged the characterization of the professor's actions as involving the prostitution of minors, arguing there was no "programmed exchanges in exchange for a payment."

Co-defendant flees to China

The co-defendant, who was supposed to appear alongside the professor, fled to China at the beginning of the proceedings and is now subject to an arrest warrant. The professor, who studied at Oxford, is now prohibited from practicing a profession related to minors and is registered in the Judicial File of Authors of Sexual or Violent Offenses (Fijaisv).