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62 found guilty in child sex case

ANGERS, France - A court convicted 62 defendants Wednesday in a mass pedophilia trial and sentenced some of them to as much as 28 years in prison for their roles in a network that systematically raped and prostituted children in western France.

In the harrowing case, prosecutors said, 45 children between the ages of 6 months and 14 years were raped and abused by their parents, grandparents or acquaintances in a working-class neighborhood of Angers from 1999 to 2002 - at times in exchange for small amounts of money, food, alcohol or cigarettes.

Three of the 65 defendants were acquitted.

About 10 of the young victims followed along in a nearby courtroom, with magistrates explaining the proceedings. They were relieved by the verdict, said Alain Fouquet, a defense lawyer.

During its weeklong deliberations, the nine-member jury pored over 1,974 separate allegations against the defendants. The court took two hours just to read aloud the decision - a reminder of the network's immense size.

Defendants appeared one by one to hear their sentences. One of the alleged ringleaders, Eric J., pounded on the table and started an argument as the court read out his 28-year sentence. Police removed him from the room.

Eric J., described by prosecutors as an "ogre," was accused of raping or abusing 15 children.

Victims and suspects in the trial cannot be identified by full names because of French laws designed to preserve the anonymity of child victims.

The 4 1/2-month trial presided over by Judge Eric Marechal showed that abuse sometimes continued over several generations.

[Last modified July 28, 2005, 01:10:15]