In the case of rape, child abuse and human trafficking which concerns the Spaniard Félix Ramos, which dates back to 2019, the Court of Cassation confirmed the initial sentence pronounced against the Spaniard. The NGO, Touche pas à mon enfant, welcomed the court decision in the case and praised the work of the judicial authorities.
Arrested on June 7, 2019 in Morocco and sentenced to 8 years in prison in 2020 accompanied by a fine of 60,000 dirhams for the benefit of the victims, the Spaniard Félix Ramos, had seen his sentence reduced to 3 years by the Court of Appeal of Tetouan last December for allegedly “health problems and the need for medical treatment”.
The case had initially started on complaints of fraud, filed in particular by an MRE, it had taken a new course when a young man of 19 accused him of fraud and rape of a minor when he had to sentenced to 14 years in a shelter in Tangier.
Félix Ramos was arrested in Tangier on his return from Spain and the case involves several other Spaniards including the founder and president of the Ningún Niño sin Techo association in Tangier, María Rodríguez Almendros. The association was also dissolved by the authorities in July 2020 in the wake of this case.
The NGO “Touche Pas à Mon Enfant” welcomed the court ruling in the case. “We salute the work of the judicial authorities who conducted this investigation with rigor and impartiality,” wrote the NGO in a press release of which MoroccoLatestNews has a copy.
The association for the defense of victims of child abuse, however, recalled that the initial sentence of eight years’ imprisonment was reduced to three years during several appeals. “This is why we have decided to intervene as Moroccan civil society to call for justice,” she said in a document signed by its president, Najat Anwar.
“Thanks to the mobilization of our members and that of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), the case was referred to cassation and the sentence to eight years’ imprisonment and compensation to the victims of sixty thousand dirhams have been confirmed,” adds the same source.
The NGO recalls that normally in such circumstances the sentence could reach up to twenty years of imprisonment, saying it hopes that “this court decision will serve as an example to dissuade any person who would be tempted to commit reprehensible acts against of our children”.