Senegalese police arrest 14 suspects in a child abuse network run by a French national

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) - Senegalese police arrested 14 suspects in a criminal network allegedly run by a French citizen that sexually exploited children in the West African country.

The suspected ringleader and French national, Pierre Robert, was arrested in France last April, police said in a statement on Sunday. Police said the network had been operating since 2017.

The charges against the 14, all Senegalese nationals, include "child rape, pimping, acts against nature and the deliberate transmission of HIV," the police said in a statement Sunday. The group allegedly forced boys to have unprotected sex, often with HIV positive men, and filmed them.

Four of the suspects are accused of acting as "sex trainers" and allegedly admitted carrying out the abuse in exchange for money transfers from Robert, according to the police.

It was not immediately clear how many children fell victim to the group.

The arrests, following a joint investigation involving Senegalese and French authorities, were carried out in coordinated raids at the suspects' homes in Dakar and in Kaolack, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) southeast of the capital.

Senegal has strict laws against sexual abuse of children, with prison sentences raging from five to 10 years for offenses involving children under 16. But limited police resources, lack of staff and gaps in judicial follow-through have hampered enforcement of child protection laws, Human Rights Watch said in a 2018 report.