Morocco sex abuse case against French tycoon widens

Another woman has pressed sexual harassment charges in a case against French insurance tycoon Jacques Bouthier and a seventh suspect has been detained, lawyers in Morocco said Saturday.

Several young Moroccan women had lodged complaints last month against the 75-year-old, one of France's richest men, for alleged "people trafficking, sexual harassment and verbal and moral violence".

Since then, Moroccan authorities have detained several employees of Bouthier, who is under arrest in Paris over accusations of people trafficking and rape of a minor.

"In total, seven cases are now pending against Bouthier and his accomplices," lawyer Abdelfattah Zahrach told a press conference in the northern Moroccan city of Tangiers on Saturday, adding: "The victims have decided to break the silence, and others will follow."

Aicha Guellaa, of the Moroccan Association for the Rights of Victims (AMDV), said a seventh suspect, of French nationality, had been detained and would appear before prosecutors on Saturday.

Five employees of Bouthier's insurance group Assu2000, later renamed Vilavi, were taken into custody in Tangiers on July 6, while a sixth was charged but released.

The women said they had faced repeated sexual harassment and intimidation between 2018 and this year, as well as threats to their jobs, in a country where many struggle to find work.

Guellaa said Bouthier and his co-accused had formed "an organised criminal gang" and that more victims would likely come forward.

Sexual abuse victims often face social stigma, and young women at Saturday's press conference, wearing dark glasses to hide their identities, said they had faced intimidation in the media and online.

"The nightmare continues. They have threatened us, insulted us and even tried to bribe us, but without success," one of them said.