A former French police officer from the child protection unit in Marseille will face trial on Monday for allegedly raping and abusing Filipino children on the streets.
The 46-year-old ex-policeman, who has been in prison for four years, was arrested after a youth shelter complained that a 17-year-old resident, a rape victim, was receiving inappropriate messages every night from the former officer.
A police raid on his home in June 2021 yielded thousands of images of child pornography. The investigation expanded to the Philippines, where he travels annually as the head of a charity for street children in Manila.
Two boys, 12 and 15 years old, said they were paid several hundred pesos for sexual activity on a vacant lot and in the man's apartment.
A lawyer for one of the organizations said, “This is a plan with malicious intent – he poses as the child’s guardian but does the opposite.” The trial in Aix-en-Provence is due to end on Thursday.
