(Credit: AFP/Josep Lago/Illustration photo)
BEIRUT — The association "Village de paix et d'amour," meant to care for children in danger or abandoned by their parents, located in Mansourieh, has been closed and sealed by Mount Lebanon Judge Joelle Abou Haidar over alleged sexual abuse and other crimes by staff members.
Abou Haidar's decision, published on Friday and read by L'Orient-Le Jour, was made after observing several "flagrant violations" allegedly committed by the NGO against the children under its care.
According to the judge's decision, the association's director is accused of "complicity and participation in a criminal act" for failing to inform the court that a male staff member "sexually harassed two minor girls, forcing them to have sexual intercourse with him, to take drugs and to masturbate."
The court also accused the director of the NGO of taking underage girls to nightclubs and allowing them to consume alcohol. One of the teenagers allegedly attempted suicide while under the influence of alcohol.
The director also allegedly threatened the girls with prison if they informed the court of the association's practices, and verbally abused them.
Some of the minors were allegedly taken by the director to her home and forced to clean it. Finally, the judge's text denounces the fact that the NGO does not take "physical, psychological and health security" measures to ensure the security of the children under its care.
'Personal profit'
In addition to these accusations, the association has also been accused of human trafficking, after giving at least one child up for adoption in return for financial remuneration. "This kind of association is opened under the guise of charity, but in reality it's mainly for personal profit," a senior judicial source told L'Orient-Le Jour on condition of anonymity.
''The leaders of these associations collect funds from NGOs, spend hardly any on the children and pocket the rest of the money," the source added, accusing the association of having "monetized an adoption for several thousand dollars" and falsified papers (notably a birth certificate) to make it appear that the child was the family's biological son, in order to facilitate the procedure.
A second similar case was about to occur, but was finally discovered in time, the judge's decision continues.
The source also explained that the association, which takes in "children at risk or whose mothers don't want to look after them," was only closed after the minors had all been transferred to other centers.
L'Orient-Le Jour tried reaching out to the association but received no response.
Judge Abou Haidar passed the case on to Samer Lichaa, Advocate General of the Mount Lebanon Court of Appeal.
"It is the children's judge who is competent to deal with all matters relating to their protection. This is why Joelle Abou Haidar has ordered the closure of the association, but she cannot make arrests. She has therefore referred the case to the public prosecutor, who has jurisdiction because there has been trafficking in children," explained lawyer Diane Assaf, who is following up on the case.
According to a high-ranking judicial source, the case should be transferred shortly to the first investigating judge in Mount Lebanon, Nicolas Mansour. The latter will decide whether to examine the case or refer it to another investigating judge in Mount Lebanon.
A spokesperson for the Social Affairs Ministry told L'Orient-Le Jour that the shuttered association had no partnership with the ministry. "Social Affairs cannot, therefore, take any action against it. It is up to the judiciary to do so," the spokesperson added.
Several episodes of child abuse have recently come to light in Lebanon. In mid-July, Mount Lebanon investigating magistrate Rania Yahfoufi issued an arrest warrant for the owner of the "Garderêve" day-care center in Jdeideh, Metn, and an employee of the establishment, accused of abusing children in their care.
Several cases of infant abandonment have also been reported in the past week.