A 19-year-old Afghan asylum seeker has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for sexually assaulting five goats and a lamb at an animal sanctuary in southern France. One of the goats died from its injuries. The man, identified only as Massoud S, told the court during his trial at Aix-en-Provence courthouse that he was a 'normal person,' despite being caught in the act by police.
Details of the Assaults
The abuse occurred between February and April 2026 at Le Refuge d'un Moment animal sanctuary and educational farm in Pennes-Mirabeau, near Marseille. Massoud S faced charges of sexual assault and serious abuse of five goats and a six-month-old lamb. He denied all charges, but DNA evidence and his arrest during the act led to conviction after just one hour of jury deliberation.
Cassandra Sortino, the sanctuary owner, said suspicions arose in February when staff noticed rope marks on animals' legs, injuries to their vulvas, and traces of blood. CCTV was installed and captured a man's silhouette multiple times, with abuse found the next day.
Police Operation and Arrest
Sortino reported the evidence to police, who set up an operation that caught Massoud S in April 2026 in the act behind a goat, wearing latex gloves. He continued to deny the charges, claiming he missed his train back to Marseille, where he lived in an asylum seeker centre, and had nowhere else to stay. He also stated he arrived in France in November 2025 after losing his family in a bombing in Afghanistan, which he said impacted his mental health.
Psychiatric Evaluation and Sentence
A psychiatric evaluation during pretrial detention revealed Massoud S told a doctor, 'They're making a huge fuss about it when they're just animals.' In addition to the prison sentence, he was banned from French territory and registered in the file of perpetrators of sexual and violent offenses. Sortino expressed a desire to understand his behaviour, saying, 'We can't explain it morally. We feel like we've failed.'
