pedophiles the gambia

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A tourist wades into the sea with a small African kid in The Gambia - where child sex corruption is rife

Gambian children are being sold to British paedophiles for as little as £two-a-time past their desperate parents, Sun Online can reveal.

Huge numbers of predators are taking advantage of lax laws in the poverty stricken African country to commence on sick child abuse holidays where they openly target piddling boys and girls.

Sun Online saw first mitt how poor Gambian children tin be vulnerable to British paedos when nosotros visited the beach resorts that dot Kololi on the state'south picturesque Atlantic coastline.

Our reporter was constantly shocked by the number of unaccompanied African minors he saw beingness cared for by eye-aged, Western men who did not appear to be their biological fathers.

gambia pedophiles child british man

A human with a British emphasis holds a scared toddler in his arms

The encounters witnessed included a girl aged between six and 8 having dejeuner with a balding, white haired man in a restaurant filled with similarly aged tourists.

The same day we saw a stoutly built man in his 50s or 60s wading into the sea gripping the manus of a tiny African kid in white pond shorts.

Equally unsettling was the sight of a Gambian toddler watching wide-eyed with fear every bit a middle-anile white woman got into a fist fight with a young black prostitute at a pop beach bar.

It was 11.30pm at night and the air was thick with cigarette smoke. The child, no older than two, was being held closely past a white man with a British accent.

Children sold for £ii

Our investigation comes as experts warn that the economic crisis unleashed by the plummet of travel firm Thomas Melt is helping plough the former British colony into a "paedophile paradise" where perverts tin operate unchecked.

Thomas Cook flew 45 per cent of The Gambia's 100,000 annual visitors from the Britain to the capital Banjul until information technology went into liquidation under the weight of its debts in September.

The gambia map pedophiles

In an exclusive interview, Lamin Fatty, the National Coordinator of the Child Protection Alliance in Gambia, reveals that both male and female person tourists are targeting African minors.

He warns: "Sex is cheap in my country and children are being sold for as little as 150 dalasis, or just over £two in your currency. Some of the parents know their children are existence abused and they accept it because they are so desperate for food in their bellies.

"Others are also naïve to realise. They remember the Westerner is paying their bills and helping their boy or girl out of the kindness of their heart, while in reality they have bad intentions.

"Child abuse is going on all the time in The Republic of the gambia and the government is non doing enough to put a stop to it.

The Gambia pedophiles

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Two school-historic period girls play at the anxiety of two men, their mums nowhere in sight

"Our children are being approached direct on the beaches or the street and child abusers from all over Europe including the Uk are coming here for this.

"I want to make articulate that this does non simply involve men but likewise developed women who are paying for sex with teenage boys in The Gambia.

"We have laws that are supposed to stop this from happening but they are not being enforced then we have go a paradise for paedophiles."

Locals 'desperate' after Thomas Cook collapse

Every bit tourism makes up one-third of the country's GDP, there are fears that businesses will go bust and locals volition get hungry following an estimated 50 per cent drib in economical activity that has already hit beach resorts.

Lawyer and children's rights advocate Malick Jallow told Sun Online: "While some tourists will always want to help poor Gambians, others will see this situation as an opportunity to exploit young children.

the gambia pedophiles britain

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Lamin Fat, National Coordinator of the Children's Protection Brotherhood, said this boy shouldn't exist in a bar so late at night, adding: "We do not encourage physical affection with minors"

"The trouble is that the abuse is sometimes carried out with the blessing of the parents considering they are and so in need.

"The perception is that white people, or 'toubabs' as they call them, take stacks of cash and these parents are often excited that their kid has attracted the attention of a white man.

"It really makes them feel proud and so they requite their permission for the boy or girl to become with the person and when the law endeavour to question them they will not co-operate."

'She didn't expect comfortable at all'

Former Thomas Cook rep Anne Heap, 53, from Wigan, said: "These people are equally poor as poor can be — it'southward rare to meet a child wearing shoes — and there isn't any other trade for them outside tourism.

"Thomas Cook used to e'er requite united states an extra 10kg luggage allowance and then the workers and passengers could bring aid boxes to Gambia — basic things like clothes, medicine and school equipment.

"The first thing I thought of when nosotros went under was, 'What is going to happen to people in The Gambia?' Nosotros were the simply airline flying directly there.I've heard that criminal offense has already shot upwards as there is not enough money coming in — the hand that feeds them is gone.

"Sexual practice tourism is already huge in Gambia — some bars are similar brothels — and I do worry that more children will go lured into prostitution to feed their families. When I was working there I would see old men walking with girls as young as 10, 11 or 12. There is a dark side to The gambia.

"One time when nosotros were flying back to Manchester there was a British man in his 70s with a girl who was only nigh eight or 9. This was about eight years ago. I was and so concerned about what was going on that I got chatting to him outside the toilet during the flight. I wanted to speak to the girl too but she never left her seat, she didn't look comfortable at all. I reported it and border security afterwards told me the man had been 'apprehended' but I was non able to notice out what happened to him or the daughter subsequently that."

Tots manus-in-manus with 'paedos'

We came across a number of tourists with young children in the West African resortCredit: My Story Media

There is no proof to suggest that any of the men we pictured were paedophiles.

All the same the experts we showed our dossier of photos to said the constabulary should take questioned them according to Gambian child protection laws.

Lamin Fatty said: "This does worry me because, if the children are unaccompanied, they should not be lone in tourist areas without their parents.

"It is as well forbidden for a child to be in a bar so belatedly at night and we do not encourage concrete affection with minors.

"I work with young girls and boys and I would not hug them or choice them upwardly, it is not advisable."

Malick Jallow added: "I would have questioned these men had I seen them myself. As a lawyer and an activist, I would want to know if they have the authority to be caring for that child. We have a lot of expert Samaritans coming to Republic of the gambia but we also accept people who use charity as a forepart to hide their bad intentions.

"The security guards should take questioned these men just there is a civilisation of inferiority here and they would take been scared to challenge a wealthy Westerner."

British tourists tin still wing to The The gambia via Lisbon with the TAP airline or via Casablanca with Royal Air Maroc. At that place is also a limited direct service run by 'Gambia Experience' company and packet deals can exist snapped up for just over £500 a person.

Pensioners taking teens to hotels

Older British women are famed for holidaying in The Gambia, where some pick upwards African gigolosCredit: My Story Media

Health care assistant Lucy Mendy, 33, from Gloucester, was trying to savor a wintertime vacation in the country she has come up to encounter as a second domicile — but says she was shocked by some of the things she had witnessed during her trip.

She said: "I've seen sometime men taking girls looking as young equally fifteen or 16-years-old to their hotel room.

"It fabricated me feel sick and I wish I could take intervened, but this is non the Uk and I was scared what might have happened if I tried to confront them. People hither are so poor, some of them will do annihilation for money, even if it ways giving their bodies to a tourist."

Marjorie said the touch on of Thomas Cook closing downwardly was clear to see in the resort

Lucy'southward mum, pensioner Marjorie Botton, 68, likewise from Gloucester, added: "The collapse of Thomas Cook has hit people then hard.

"They are getting half every bit many British tourists and that means they might non make plenty money to get through the repose season, which starts in April."

Dutch tourist Corina Bouwman also witnessed suspected child abuse during her ii calendar week, winter vacation in Dec.

The social worker, 54, said: "I've seen a number of tiny African children walking effectually with large white men. On each occasion I thought, 'What is going on here? Where is the child'south mother?' But I didn't want to accuse anyone in case I had misread the situation."

'White men arroyo little boys and girls'

Father-of-4 Abdullah Labamba, 48, runs a fruit stand adjacent to 1 of the many hotels that line Kololi's palm-tree fringed beach and says he has witnessed paedophiles targeting vulnerable child workers selling peanuts for less than £1 a bag.

the gambia pedophiles britain

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Fruit seller Abdullah Labamba, pictured, says paedos oft target vulnerable kid workers selling peanuts

He said: "I've seen white men approach the piddling boys and girls correct hither on the beach. I do my best to stop them. "I tell the children, 'Leave of here, this is not a safe place for you.' The children will run away but they unremarkably come back. Information technology's shocking."

"Their parents are desperate for money and they know they won't be allowed dwelling house until they have sold at least v bags. Some men try to take reward of that by offer them £50 for the whole handbasket. Then they will inquire them to come back to go somewhere private."

Child abuse scourge

Tragically, child abuse is now endemic in The Gambia, where 60 per cent of the 1.9m population live below the poverty line.

Previous research has shown that paedophiles frequently pose as charity workers and Good Samaritans and then they can befriend poor families — and UNICEF has warned that The gambia is one of Africa's top destinations for child sex tourism.

The Gambian authorities meanwhile has tried to crack down and in 2013 introduced new laws allowing them to seize hotel properties if children are knowingly abused on the premises.

They too pledged to give out "hefty fines" and "stiff sentences" to paedophiles that are caught.

Merely incredibly there has been only one successful prosecution since laws were tightened and that man ended up being pardoned by the president.

Svein Agesandakar pedophile gambia

Svein Agesandakar was jailed for sexual offences confronting children

Norwegian teacher Svein Agesandakar, 57, was found guilty of abusing six children, the youngest aged three, in 2006.

The courtroom heard how he had tricked his style into a hard-up Gambian family past posing as a do-gooder, giving the parents sacks of rice and new shoes in exchange for time alone with their large brood of 6 kids in a hotel room.

The paedophile had split convictions for child abuse in Norway but was sentenced to just iii years in jail.

Then, in 2022 President Adama Barrow decided to pardon him for reasons that have never been explained. The pardon was later revoked amidst a public outcry only experts fearfulness his case has given a green low-cal to other paedophiles.

ECPAT is the only child rights charity that is solely focusing on ending the sexual exploitation of children.

Children in all countries of the world are at hazard of trafficking and prostitution, as well every bit online dangers such every bit grooming, sextortion and the proliferation of kid sexual corruption images.

In recent years, the travel and tourism sector has imperilled millions of children worldwide as travelling child sex offenders discover new victims.

To end these crimes, noesis and bear witness must exist of the highest possible quality to inform decisions and guide activity.

Predator free

In October last year an official Un investigation found that The gambia's tourist areas go along to exist a dangerous place for children and that predators now stay in motels and private apartments so they tin avoid prying optics.

UN Special Rapporteur Maud de Boer-Buquicchio reported: "The rare instances when complaints are lodged with the police are not duly acted upon, the gathering of compelling evidence is delayed, and investigation and prosecution is stalled, resulting in victims or witnesses withdrawing their complaints.

"Some cases have also reportedly been dismissed on the grounds that statements by kid victims were allegedly inconsistent."

Our report comes after the United kingdom authorities was slammed for declining to protect children overseas from British predators.

A report past the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Corruption (IICSA) plant more than needs to exist done to brand sure offenders operating in poor countries like The The gambia are defenseless and prosecuted.

Calling for a new national program to tackle the trouble, Debbie Beadle, Director of Programmes at the child protection arrangement ECPAT UK, said: "We hope that by bringing these institutional failings to light, the United kingdom can become a world leader in tackling the abuse of vulnerable children globally, and that child victims away are no longer 'under the radar' of authorities.

Global manhunt for Aussie paedo monster Simon Gordon Davies who ran child sex activity ring from charity set up to 'assist' homeless kids

End Child Prostitution and Trafficking - ECPAT is conducting main inquiry, as well as bringing together data from various sectors and countries around the world, to course a reliable and professional range of academic sources.The charity supports the protection of children and empowerment of 113 members in 98 countries - including The Gambia. Y'all tin donate to ECPAT here .