WINDHOEK – The case against 46-year-old Frenchman, Mathieu Nicolas Furic, who was arrested in Namibia for sexual crimes allegedly committed against children in India, was remanded to next week Monday, 11 August.
The matter was postponed in the Regional Court in Katutura.
Furic’s defence lawyer Petrus Elago received new information in the matter hence the case had to be remanded to next Monday.
Furic was denied bail when he appeared in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court last month.
Furic was nabbed by the Namibian Police in Walvis Bay in June for allegedly molesting children in India during November last year.
He skipped India after his crimes were uncovered and was on the Interpol wanted list.
He was arrested in Walvis Bay when he tried to enter Namibia as a fisherman to work on one of the fishing vessels at the coast.
An online Indian newspaper, New India Express, reported that a case was registered against Furic on 3 December 2013 for allegedly sexually abusing a group of children in Odisha’s beach town of Puri between 23 and 26 November 2013.
The newspaper further reported the alleged crimes came to light after an American tourist, identified as James Foster Gorman, a key witness in the case lodged a complaint with the local police in December after he saw Furic perform oral sex with a group of children.
Allegations are also that Furic assaulted Gorman when he protested against his sexual acts.
Gorman allegedly talked to some of the children believed to have been molested by Furic and recorded their conversation on video. He then handed the video footage to the Indian authorities to investigate Furic. On the basis of the footage and a written complaint, police raided the hotel where Furic was staying shortly afterwards, but found that he had left for France.
Furic has been booked for committing offences under the Indian penal code, including wrongful restraint, causing hurt, criminal intimidation and offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
By Tunomukwathi Asino