A 19-year-old Afghan refugee has been arrested in France over a series of brutal rapes of sheep and goats that were found tied up and bleeding.
The owners of educational farm Le Refuge D’un Moment in Les Pennes-Mirabeau, near Marseille in the country’s south, began finding their animals in distress and showing signs of sexual abuse in February, and then again later that month and in March.
Some of the animals were found with their legs bound and with genital injuries and lacerations, and one five-month-old lamb was abused so severely on March 31 that it almost died, La Provence reported.
The owners of the farm set up cameras, and were shocked to see a man carrying out violent sex acts with some of the animals.
A police BAC (Anti-Crime Brigade) unit then caught the alleged perpetrator in the act on April 10, arrested him, and charged him with animal cruelty.
He faced court on April 13, where prosecutors said the man’s DNA matched semen found in the six animals he is accused of raping, and asked that he be kept in custody.
The 19-year-old, who entered France in November 2025 and was living in a shelter in Marseille while awaiting a residency permit, denied the abuse through an English interpreter.
He will remain in pre-trial detention until his trial on June 22.
The owners of the non-profit educational farm, which is home to 250 abandoned or mistreated animals including horses, cows, llamas, sheep, goats and chickens for children to visit, have started an online fundraiser to cover their veterinary and legal expenses.
Header image: Goats on the farm (BFM Marseille Provence).
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