The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced on Monday renowned Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Amin to three years in prison and fined him 200,000 Egyptian pounds after finding him guilty of human trafficking.
His case was exposed in January while his first trial was in March.
Al-Amin is a media and real estate tycoon who owned and managed several television channels and newspapers in Egypt.
The prosecution had referred Al-Amin’s case to the criminal court last February. It found him guilty of human trafficking when he exploited seven girls at an orphanage he founded in the southern Beni Suef province and of sexually assaulting the victims and threatening them with violence.
The referral came after hearing the testimonies of 13 eyewitnesses, the confessions of the victims, the examination of the defendant’s mobile phone, the Forensic Authority’s reports, the National Council of Childhood and Motherhood and the physiological and social research department at the Ministry of Social Solidarity.
The prosecutor-general’s office said in a statement that Al-Amin housed the victims in the orphanage for the purpose of sexually abusing them.
During the investigations, the exploited girls testified against Al-Amin.
Evidence collected from the his mobile phone contained a number of photos of the victims that revealed he was with them and proved he frequently visited the orphanage.
The owner of the Facebook page Atfal Mafqooda (Lost Children) had presented evidence, releasing a recording of one of the girls describing the abuse she endured.
The Ministry of Social Solidarity intervened in the case, pledging to respond with full force to any violations at social welfare institutions.
The Ministry said it will not hesitate in referring such cases immediately to the Public Prosecution for necessary action against the perpetrators, regardless of their positions.
