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French envoy in Liberia denies sex scam claims

By Staff 09/02/2012 13:34:00

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By KEMO CHAM NATION Correspondent
Posted Thursday, February 9 2012 at 16:34

France’s ambassador to Liberia is struggling to clear his name in a sex scandal involving street girls.

The diplomat has, through a press statement, asked the Liberian Foreign ministry to take “necessary actions” against journalists he accused of publishing “false and misleading information” about him, regarding his alleged involvement in a sex scandal that could cause a rift between Monrovia and Paris.

The ambassador is accused of sexually enslaving two Liberian girls whom he met at a popular local entertainment centre called ‘Red Lion’ in Monrovia.

A few of Monrovia’s dailies on Monday and Tuesday reported that the two Liberian girls had alleged that the ambassador had hired them for $400 but failed to pay the full amount after an advance of $100.

“As a diplomat representing another country, this is damaging to my private life and my work as ambassador,” the ambassador said at a press conference in Monrovia on Wednesday. Prostitution is illegal in the West African country.

The French Embassy in Monrovia, following repeated calls for clarification, said in an official reaction to the alleged sex scam that the ambassador had reported the matter to the ministries of Justice, Information and Foreign Affairs and was expecting the authorities to quickly institute an investigation into the matter.

“This is grave and it affects the dignity of a human being, the private life of the ambassador, but also the image of the Republic of France, an image voluntarily being damaged by some journalists for reasons best known to themselves,” the embassy statement released on Tuesday said.

“First of all, the name of the ambassador of France is not Jacques Gerard as claimed by the papers, as Jacques Gerard was my predecessor and he left in August 2009,” it added.

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