Verdicts announced in France's largest child abuse case

July 27, 2005

The biggest child abuse case in the history of France, involving 45 abused children and 65 defendants, ended today with the conviction of all but three of the accused.

The court in Angers handed down sentences ranging from four months suspended to 28 years for, among others, Philppe V., the key accused. The court found that he, along with his son Franck V. and Franck's former spouse, Patricia M., was one the instigators of a sex ring that abused 45 children, mostly in the couple's flat.

The abuses of children aged between six months and 12 years took place in a poor and deprived area of the western french town of Angers. Many of the defendants were poor and lived on benefits and some were mentally impaired. About 20 of them admitted to the charges, while others claimed to have never heard of a sex ring.