Fode Sitafa Mara, 41, of Takoma Park, was sentenced to life in prison in Greenbelt, along with a lifetime of supervised release, for violently sexually abusing two females in Burkina Faso over a two-year period.
The rapes were reported in 2022 and 2023, while he was stationed at the US Embassy in Ouagadougou.
Prosecutors claimed Mara repeatedly raped the girls, who were 13 and 15, inside his embassy-leased home. Because the residence was reserved for US diplomatic workers, the case was in an American federal court.
According to evidence produced at trial, the girls lived close by in abject poverty with no running water. When Mara arrived at the station, he obtained access to the family and started molesting the teenagers for around a year.
According to authorities, he used their mother’s life-threatening sickness to put them under pressure, telling them that he couldn’t help them until he got something in exchange. He gave the girls phones so he could contact them when his wife was gone at work.
“Our message is clear: those who prey on our children will pay a high price,” US Attorney Kelly O. Hayes stated. “Mara targeted and abused two innocent young girls, and now he’ll be behind bars for a long time, where he belongs.”
Mara was found guilty of four charges of aggravated sexual abuse of a juvenile, as well as one count of attempted coercion and inducement of a minor and attempted obstruction of justice, after a two-week trial in October 2025.
“The defendant, while representing the US government abroad, violently sexually abused two acutely vulnerable child victims,” Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva stated.
“His crimes were horrible. While no punishment will restore the pain he inflicted, today’s decision illustrates that individuals who abuse children, whether locally or internationally, will face serious consequences in the American legal system.”
Mara was also convicted of sending sexually alluring texts to one of the underage victims and attempted to get his maid to lie to US officials in order to conceal his crimes.
“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents in Maryland, with assistance from federal law enforcement partners, demonstrated exceptional dedication and professionalism in bringing justice for the victims in this case,” acting HSI Executive Director John Condon said.
“Their relentless pursuit of the facts and commitment to protecting vulnerable children across the world exemplify HSI’s mission to investigate crimes that threaten the safety and security of our communities at home and abroad.”
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