Overview
- Fode Sitafa Mara, 41, was sentenced to life in federal prison on Feb. 26 after an October 2025 jury conviction in the District of Maryland, and his lawyer says he plans to appeal.
- The jury found him guilty of four counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, as well as attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and attempted obstruction of justice.
- Trial evidence showed he repeatedly assaulted two girls, ages 13 and 15, in 2022–2023 at his embassy-leased residence in Ouagadougou.
- Prosecutors said he exploited the family’s poverty and the mother’s life‑threatening illness, provided phones to summon the victims, and tried to persuade a housekeeper to lie to investigators.
- DSS, USAID OIG, and HSI led the investigation with assistance from Burkinabé authorities, and the Justice Department prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Childhood.