Four teenagers appeared before the second chamber of the Tangier Court of Appeal on Monday, after allegedly sexually harassing a woman in Tangier.
They were arrested after a video circulated on social media showing the teenagers committing lewd and obscene acts directed at a female passerby. As the video circulated on social media, Moroccans strongly criticized the behavior.
The teens who are minors, were questioned outside the presence of the victim, according to sources. The victim shared a voice recording on social media, recounting the details of the incident but without revealing her identity.
Following the interrogation of the four minors, the public prosecutor ordered their pretrial detention in a juvenile detention center at the Tangier prison.
They are being prosecuted on charges of attempted indecent assault and harassment, media sources reported.
The victim of the assault noted that the widespread video did not capture the full sequence of events. “The incident started as an attempted theft, which later turned into sexual assault,” she allegedly said in a recording made public on social media.
“I was wearing a long jacket, reaching below the knees, like anyone else. It wasn’t short, contrary to what the video suggests. I wasn’t the only one wearing such clothes; it’s common attire you see on television, in the streets, and on social media.”
“If you pay attention, the jacket had mid-length sleeves, the neckline was covered, and the hem reached the knees,” she added. Although a victim’s attire typically has little or nothing to do with an assault, it is frequently used erroneously to suggest that the victim in some way contributed to an attack.