French court acquits Congolese music star of sex assault charges

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - A French appeals court on Monday acquitted Congolese rumba star Koffi Olomide of charges of sexual assault on four of his former dancers, French media reported.

The 7th correctional chamber of the Court of Appeal of Versailles near Paris however sentenced Olomide to 18 months in prison with a three-year probationary suspension for “sequestering” them during his tours in France, according to AFP.

The court said the acquittal for sexual assault was attributed to the “evolving, sometimes contradictory statements” of the plaintiffs.

But the sequestration charge “is beyond doubt,” it said, noting that the complainants were “deprived of all liberty and constantly monitored” by two accomplices of the musician between 2002 and 2006 in a house in a Paris suburb with locks installed on the shutters.

Olomide, 65, who attended his trial in October, had blasted the accusations as “lies” calculated to destroy his career.

Lawyer David Desgranges, who represented three of the dancers, said the plaintiffs will be disappointed about the acquittal for sexual assault, since it was for them the most critical thing.

He, however, said the sentencing for sequestration was satisfactory because the damages are important, unlike the judgment in the first instance.

Olomide and his two accomplices must now pay between 10,000 and 32,000 euros ($11,282 and $36,102) in damages to each dancer.

The four Congolese women, who filed a complaint between 2007 and 2013, accused Olomide of locking them up in a house in a Paris suburb and forcing them to have sex with him, some of them regularly.

In the testimonies during the trial, one of the alleged victims said this occurred in different places, including hotels and sometimes in a car and recording studios.

Since then, none of the women has returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo, ostensibly fearing the consequences, with reports indicating that one of them attempted suicide.

The prosecution had requested eight years in prison for the Franco-Congolese musician.