Spanish Aid Workers Accused of Child Sexual Abuse in Moroccan Center

The minors were cared for in the Assadaka Social Center in Tangier, created through a Moroccan-Spanish collaboration. The two Spaniards, who were coordinators of this center, would have used their authority and the ties woven with the minors to subject them to sexual abuse. Several Moroccan minors from this center have told the media that they have been victims of sexual abuse. "He slept with me as if I was a woman [...] He held our hands, kissed us on the mouth, and continued to harass us even while we were sleeping," says one of them.

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The accused, as a teacher and social worker, have extensive experience in the field of children, youth and family, both in Spain and in Morocco, Cape Verde and the Dominican Republic. "They fled Morocco when a minor threatened to denounce them with a video he had recorded. They have been in Spain since 2020," explains a member of the Moroccan NGO "Don’t Touch My Child" who condemns these acts. The minor victims of these abuses are now being cared for by the Muslim association Bab Khokha in Fez, reports El Español.

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The accused do not recognize the facts. They attribute these complaints to the director of the Assadaka Social Center who has difficult relations with the Moroccan government. "By not wanting to leave the position, he slanders the children," they specify.

The Assadaka Social Center was created between 2000 and 2002, with funding from the Madrid City Council. Its management is ensured by several organizations including the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the Community of Madrid. The center has educational reinforcement rooms that can accommodate up to 400 minors, and a painting training workshop.