Tahiti court hears appeal in major drugs and sex case

5:50 am on 27 January 2020

Three people convicted over a racket with child prostitution sex and drug dealing in French Polynesia have had their cases retried in the court of appeal.

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Photo: 123RF

The prosecution wants their jail sentences to be upheld, with a verdict expected to be delievred on 12th March.

Last year, they had been given jail sentences of up to seven years but only the central figure in the affair, Sabine Boiron, is currently jailed.

She was convicted for supplying methamphetamine to women and girls as young as 13 who for payment to her then had sex with two businessmen, Thierry Barbion and Marc Ramel.

Although the two men were also jailed for four years, they secured their freedom within days, pending the outcome of the appeal court case.

In the appeal court, they said they were unaware how young the women were.

Barbion's lawyer is quoted as saying it is surreal to seek to jail a man for four years for prostitution with a minor.

Meanwhile an investigation was opened in the past month into possible witness tampering.

This followed a report by La Depeche de Tahiti that Barbion's lawyer and the lawyer of three alleged victims agreed for them to be paid $US10,000 each to fend off further publicity.

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