Ratatouille animator sentenced to prison for child abuse
A scene from the cartoon Ratatouille
Disney and Pixar studio animator Bolhem Bouchiba was found guilty of involvement in child sexual abuse. The man was sentenced to 25 years in prison in Paris, according to Le Figaro.
Child abuse
The investigation revealed that Bouchiba had been funding online streams of child abuse for many years. He was 56 years old at the time of the case.
According to the media, from 2012 to 2021, he regularly paid for these acts of rape and watched them live on the Internet.
Young Philippine children, aged between three and ten, were victims of his “entertainment.”
According to Le Figaro, Bouchiba paid for hundreds of streams, and the number of victims could be up to a thousand. Bouchiba spent about €50,000 on these live broadcasts.
What a court verdict
Europol launched an investigation into the animator's activities in 2019 after suspicious money transfers to the Philippines were detected. In addition, in 2014, he was already arrested and convicted of abusing his eight-year-old stepdaughter but sentenced to a two-year suspended sentence.
The new judicial process lasted from October 29 to 31, and the investigation proved Buchiba's involvement in 200 streams, for each of which he paid €50 to €100. Bouchiba pleaded guilty, repented, and apologized.
Initially, he faced 40 years in prison, but the court eventually sentenced him to 25 years, as well as 20 years of post-release supervision.
Who is Bolhem Bouchiba
Designer Bolhem Bouchiba began his career in 1988 and contributed to the creation of projects such as DuckTales, TaleSpin, and Darkwing Duck, as well as animated films featuring Goofy and Winnie the Pooh. He also worked on Lilo & Stitch, Tarzan, Ratatouille, and How to Train Your Dragon. His latest project is the animated film Elemental, which received an Oscar nomination last year.
