E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, DEC 19 - Justice has finally been delivered to Nepali victims of French pedophile Jean Jacques Haye, who had sexually abused children inside his shelter that he had illegally operated in Kathmandu nearly two decades ago.

In a landmark decision, the French Criminal Court -- the Assizes Court of Paris -- sentenced Haye, 61, to 10 year in prison and provide compensation up to Rs. 1 million to each victim for raping and sexually abusing them. His Nepali victims are now grown up. A French embassy official here in Kathmandu confirmed the ruling of the French court that was delivered on Nov. 9, this year.  

Haye had arrived in Nepal on a tourist visa and committed crimes in the guise of doing humanitarian work. He was arrested in 1999 and banished from Nepal in 2002. Later, a case was filed in a French court jointly by Enfants and Development and Planet Enfants, two French organisations in association with Voice of Children, a Nepal-based organisation. The Court sent him behind bars for two years, but he was later freed under judicial supervision. In June 2004, he fled France and returned to Nepal to again operate a shelter home under a different name and commit the same crimes.

Only in March 2009, Haye was arrested for a second time from the Gokarna-based shelter along with his Nepali wife. He was charged and convicted of illegally staying in Nepal on a forged passport. By then, he already had an Interpol arrest warrant in his name. He was allowed to go free after paying a fine of Rs 700,000. When he returned to France, the authorities there reopened his case file.

Krishna Thapa, Director of Voice of Children, who has been closely working with the victims had gone to France along with six victims and rights activists in November to testify on the abuses perpetrated by Haye from 1985 to 2001 inside the Association of Children of Chhauni that he had ostensibly established for orphans and street children.

The testimonies were crucial in his conviction and providing justice to the victims.

 France's laws allow conviction of its nationals for crimes and sexual offences they commit overseas. While welcoming the French court's decision, child rights defenders rued Nepal's legal system that continues to release pedophiles.   

Thapa said that Haye was freed by a Nepali court in 2002 despite medical evidence about the victims to prove his guilt.  

"The victims were coerced into changing their statements, and powerful people used their influence to let Haye off the hook," said Thapa.

A knowledgeable source said a Panchayat regime controversial minister Radheshyam Kamaro's name had come to the fore as an active defender of Haye. Kamaro is the same man who is still running Haye's old shelter now renamed Asahaya Bal Upakar Sangh.

Inset

Their scars won't heal

Suman Karki (name changed) was just a minor when he was sexually assaulted by Haye for seven long years. The French court's decision comes as a big relief to him and a salve of sorts against chronic mental trauma. Karki, 24, who is now struggling in the Capital to make both ends meet, has difficulty expressing his feelings. The respite is stained by the memories of his horrific experience.

"It was a nightmare, and the verdict can never completely heal our trauma," said Karki. Like him, most of the visibly upset victims neither want to recall those sickening moments nor talk about the decision of the French court for fear of social stigma.

Krishna Thapa, Director of Voice of Children, said, "All these victims want to forget their past. They fear that revelation of the truth will ruin their lives as some of them are married and into different professions."

  One victim is employed in the Nepal Police, while the rest are struggling to eke out a living. Another victim had joined the Nepal Army but resigned due to recurring nightmares about his childhood.   

A study conducted by Voice of Children shows the victims have problems like low self-esteem, lack of concentration and recurring nightmares. Most of them feel that they can do nothing in their lives. 

Posted on: 2010-12-20 01:00

Post Your Comment

Please note that all the fields marked * are mandatory.
* Full Name
* Address
* Email Address
* Comment
* Captcha	Get another CAPTCHA code
Note:	Comments containing abusive words or slander shall not be published.