Asylum seeker, 19, who ‘raped five goats and a lamb’ tells court ‘I’m a normal person’

WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT: A 19-year-old man, who was originally from Afghanistan, has been convicted of sexually assaulting five goats, one of which died from its injuries, and a six-month-old lamb

A 19-year-old man has been was sentenced to prison after he “raped” six animals, resulting in one dying from its injuries at a animal sanctuary and educational farm in France. Only known as Massoud S, he told the court he was a “normal person”.

The asylum seeker, who was born in Afghanistan, denied all the charges during the trial at Aix-en-Provence courthouse, despite police catching the twisted individual with his pants down while in the act behind a goat with latex gloves on.

His abuse on the animals went on from February to April this year at Le Refuge d’un Moment animal sanctuary and educational farm in Pennes-Mirabeau, near Marseille.

During court on Monday (June 22), he faced on charges of sexual assault and serious abuse of five goats, one of which died from their injuries, and a six-month-old lamb. It took only an hour deliberation before he was sentenced to 30 months in jail.

Cassandra Sortino, the owner of the animal sanctuary, said suspicions were raised in February after staff noticed animals with traces of rope marks on the legs, injuries to their vulvas and traces of blood, reports French publication 20minutes.

The incidents prompted CCTV to be specially set up around those animals that had been injured and managed to capture a man’s silhouette several times with abuse found the next day.

Sortino took the evidence to police multiple times before a police operation was set up to catch the man in the act, which was successful in April this year.

During the trail, Massoud S continued to deny the charges despite DNA evidence being found and police arresting him during the sickening act. He told the court “I’m a normal person.”

One of his excuses to the court was that he missed his train back to Marseille, where he lives in an asylum seeker centre. He attempted to tell the court that it was close to the train station and that he had nowhere else to stay for the night other than going to the sanctuary.

Massoud S said he arrived in France in November 2025 after he lost his family during bombing in Afghanistan during the war. He said the incident had caused a huge impact on his mental health.

A psychiatric evaluation was conducted during his pretrial detention, where he reportedly told a doctor that “They’re making a huge fuss about it when they’re just animals”.

As well as being sentenced to thirty months in prison, he was given banned from French territory and registered in the file of perpetrators of sexual and violent offenses.

However, sanctuary owner Sortino is still looking to find answers as to understand Massoud S’s behaviour. She said “We can’t explain it morally. We feel like we’ve failed.”

For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.