French footballers quizzed in under-age sex probe
French police detained football internationals Franck Ribery and
Karim Benzema on Tuesday as they faced possible charges in a probe into
an alleged under-age prostitution ring.
Police questioned the pair for several hours before taking Ribery to
court, where a judge was to decide whether they should be charged with
paying for sex with a minor, which could see them jailed for three
years.
Benzema was due to follow shortly afterwards, a judicial source said.
The players were held at the request of the magistrate, Yves Dando,
who is probing claims that a Champs Elysees nightclub gave clients
access to minors working as call girls, the source close to the inquiry
said.
They were interrogated at the headquarters of France's BRP vice squad
on the Ile de la Cite in central Paris in the morning, before Ribery was
seen being taken the short distance to the Palace of Justice.
Ribery's 22-year-old brother-in-law and 29-year-old agent were also
questioned and may also face charges, judicial sources told AFP.
One of the young women who is alleged to have met clients at the
Zaman Cafe testified to investigators earlier in the year that she had
had relations with the two players while she was still under 18.
If they are charged and convicted of soliciting and paying for sex
with a minor, the pair face three years in jail and a fine of 45,000
euros (58,000 dollars), but only if prosecutors prove they knew she was
underage. PARIS, AFP |