Ribery in s*x Scandal
The beleaguered French soccer team that were eliminated in the first round of the World Cup 2010 in South Africa last month have more humiliation in store for them as one of their star performers Franck Ribery was placed under judicial investigation on an allegation of soliciting s*x with an under-age prostitute.
The scandal comes as a body blow to the French team, who won the tournament in 1998 and ended up at the runners up spot in the 2006 edition played in Germany.
They were lambasted for their pathetic show at the World Cup that included defeats at the hands of Mexico and hosts South Africa and the latest reversal in shape of Ribery is going to further tarnish their image in their country and elsewhere.
Police in French capital Paris is investigating a prostitution ring, and they have also questioned Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema besides Ribery in connection with the allegations levelled by the girl.
The players can land into serious trouble especially if the offence is proven, as the penalty for such a crime are three years in prison and a 45,000-euro fine.
They can sneak through if it is proven that they did not know that the girl was indeed minor.
Ribery's lawyers have been insisting that the player was not aware of the girl’s age hence he is not guilty.
The Bayern Munich star was released from custody pending further investigation, but Benzema is still under investigation by a magistrate.
The hearing into the allegations was put on hold until after the World Cup in which Ribery was embroiled in a serious conflict with the team coach Domenech.
The local media meanwhile is having a field day at the expense of the duo, accusing them of being indecent human beings who have tarnished the image of the French public and causing national shame.
They have also suggested that the duo was a client of a nightclub in Paris' upscale Champs-Elysees district.
The club is alleged to feature escorts, and the under age prostitute Zahia Dehar, is also known as one of the workers at the club.
The scandal hit the headlines all over the media when in April Zahia, appeared in the media with an interview to a local magazine based in Paris suggesting that the players violated her, as she denied that she was a prostitute.
In the interview she claimed that Ribbery who is a father of two children invited her to the German city of Munich, the base of Bayern Muich to celebrate his 26th birthday in a luxury hotel last year adding that she was paid by him for as many as three encounters.
French law prohibits s*x with an under 18 prostitute, and such an act is considered s*x with a minor.
Zahia, who turned 18 this year in February, endorsed the views of the local media reconfirming that she was indeed a minor when she was approached and subsequently used for the sexual encounters by Ribbery.
The implications of the case are far and wide for both Ribbery and Benzema and in the last day or two police also questioned the brother in law of the Bayern Munich star besides Benzema's agent.
The two were taken in custody over the incident, generally in France custody by police can last 48 hours before a judge can make a decision in a criminal case.
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