A French court sentenced a graphic artist who worked on beloved animated feature films for Pixar and Disney to 25 years in jail for ordering the livestreamed rape of preteen girls in the Philippines.
The Paris court late Thursday found Bouhalem Bouchiba guilty of complicity in the rape of hundreds of girls and in human trafficking and of viewing child pornography online.
Bouchiba, 59, had confessed to the charges during the four-day trial.
“I am aware of everything I did. I ask the victims’ forgiveness,” he told the court.
The graphic artist worked at the Pixar and Disney animation studios, contributing to blockbusters like 2004 hit “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille”, released in 2007.
“One the one hand you have a graphic artist who delighted children,” said state prosecutor Philippe Courroye.
“On the other, Bouhalem Bouchiba was a paedophile film maker who staged his own horror movies.”
He was convicted of paying women in the Philippines between 2012 and 2021 to rape and sexually assault girls aged between five and 10 in front of a camera while he watched via livestream and issued instructions.
The graphic artist admitted during his testimony that the violence resembled “torture”.
Each show cost between 50 and 100 euros ($54-$108), with the total Bouchiba spent on the performances coming to just over 50,000 euros.
Police became interested in Bouchiba when Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, sent out an alert about suspicious money transfers to the Philippines.
On October 4, 2021, Bouchiba — who was living in the United States at the time — was arrested at San Francisco’s airport and extradited to France.
The suspect was already known to police, having been found guilty in 2009 of the sexual abuse of his stepdaughter.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
