Incest case shocks local communities in Morocco

A grisly sex scandal has shaken up the quiet town of Ain Aouda on the outskirts of Rabat, as DNA tests affirm suspicions of incest.

The 60-year-old perpetrator was arrested along with his adult daughter on August 24, after investigators grew concerned about six children allegedly born from the illicit affair. On August 27, the Moroccan-friendly outlet Hespress confirmed that four out of six children were products of incest.

The remaining two children have not yet been genetically tested amid suspicions of another man’s involvement. According to court papers, the mother was informally married, without a legal contract, to a man in the Moroccan city of Oued Zem, where she was abused by both her father and her unofficial husband, leading to the birth of four children.

The case surfaced when the eldest daughter, born when her mother was just 15, discovered upon attempting to marry that she lacked the documents needed to register the union. She filed a complaint accusing her grandfather, also her father, of abuse, and her mother of forcing her into prostitution.

Prosecutors ordered a discreet investigation, leading officers to raid their rural village, Douar Oulad Boutayeb, and arrest the father, his 39-year-old daughter, and the six children. During questioning, the daughter admitted that half of the children were her father’s, while the others came from extramarital relationships.

The accused has admitted to having sexual relations with his daughter, though he claims that only two of the children were from their incestuous relationship.

Residents of the rural town described the case as a “moral shock” to the community. Local media outlets have since reported that the investigation is being closely followed by social workers and child protection groups, who have raised questions about the welfare of the minors and the legal responsibility of state institutions in preventing such abuse.

Hespress/ Barlaman Today / Maghrebi