The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has condemned in the strongest terms an alleged child sexual exploitation network in Senegal, spanning the period from 2016 to 2024.
According to the organisation, several vulnerable children were allegedly victims of repeated sexual abuse, manipulation, coercion, and deliberate exposure to HIV intended to weaken their health and
increase their dependency.
These actions constitute serious violations of children’s fundamental rights, undermining their dignity, physical and psychological integrity, as well as their right to health and safe education.
In a statement released to APA on Friday, UNICEF calls on authorities to conduct the ongoing investigations rigorously and transparently and to ensure that the child victims receive immediate and sustained medical and psychosocial support. The organisation also emphasises the need to protect children exposed to or living with HIV from all forms of stigmatisation.
Finally, UNICEF reaffirms its commitment to the Senegalese government and its partners to strengthen child protection and guarantee every child a safe and rights-respecting environment.
This statement comes after the revelation of a case involving a French national implicated in an alleged child sexual exploitation network operating between France and Senegal between 2015 and 2025.
The network reportedly targeted vulnerable children, recruiting them for repeated sexual abuse, which was sometimes recorded or disseminated.
In Senegal, some fifteen people have been arrested for their involvement in these activities, allegedly under the direction of Pierre Robert.
French and Senegalese authorities are jointly conducting the investigation to determine the extent of the network and individual responsibilities, although no final convictions have yet been handed down.
AC/fss/as/APA