Paris family clan sentenced to prison for exploitation of minors

Anyone who didn't bring home enough money was beaten or sexually abused. A court in Paris sentenced several members of a family clan to long prison sentences and heavy fines for such crimes. The court is convinced that they have used minors for years to steal from tourists in the Paris metro and in Disneyland Paris. This is reported by the British newspaper “The Guardian”.

The case is also polarizing in France: it is “a system that uses minors to ensure a form of impunity, a system that has created a stressful and painful everyday life,” prosecutor Alice Guillet is quoted as saying in the French media.

The 48-year-old head of the network received the highest punishment: Roberto H. The court imposed eight years in prison and a fine of 500,000 euros on him. His wife Lejla H. was sentenced to six years in prison and a fine of 300,000 euros. Other family members included two sons – one of whom was nicknamed “Gony”. Like a nephew and two female relatives, they received prison sentences of between five and seven years.

The court also decided that the clan members would not be allowed to leave the country after their release and not return to France. According to French media, they are said to be a Roma clan with Bosnian roots.

The clan's theft network consisted of groups of six to nine minors who were said to have been brought to locations in Paris every day. Their destinations included the metro, Charles de Gaulle Airport and Disneyland Paris. Numerous reporters had repeatedly accompanied the investigators in the fight against the pickpockets. The perpetrators are particularly targeted: foreign tourists. The French news agency AFP also reports that 75 percent of all pickpocketings in the Paris metro were carried out by the clan, citing police information.

According to estimates, the network brought in an average of up to 25,000 euros per day in this way. Anyone who was caught should state their age as twelve years old. The young perpetrators were therefore deemed to be of legal age. In France, the age of criminal responsibility is 13 years. Because responsible adults were usually unavailable, the young perpetrators had to be let go.

In court, the public prosecutor described the terrible living conditions of the minors who were forced to steal. Anyone who did not hand over enough money was mistreated. According to investigators, some of those affected also reported sexual abuse, while others were burned. "The only remedy against such a system is toughness. That sends a message," said prosecutor Alice Guillet.

Investigators believe that the adult family members used the income to finance a luxurious lifestyle. According to French media, they at times lived in expensive hotels, wore designer clothes, visited casinos and drove high-end cars. Their children called them “Dior” or “Al Capone,” the French newspaper “Le Monde” also reports. In total, the couple's assets are estimated at around two million euros. According to investigators, some of the money is said to have been hidden abroad.

The investigations against the family go back many years. Back in 2010, French police arrested a relative of the later convicted clan leader, who was later convicted of human trafficking. Trials and convictions continued to follow, but the system continued to function. The public prosecutor's office therefore spoke of a cross-generational system in the current proceedings. Several of those sentenced today were forced to steal as children themselves. Guillet said: “They went from being victims to being perpetrators.”

The defendants denied the allegations. After the verdict, the defense said the sentences were too harsh. In their opinion, there was insufficient evidence to support the accusation of human trafficking.

In fact, only one affected person is said to have testified during the trial, reports the broadcaster TFinfo: an adult, young woman. She had been married to one of the sons - and wanted to tell what she had experienced. After the arrests, the children used as pickpockets were looked after by social authorities and some were placed in foster families. However, most of them are said to have long since disappeared from there.