Former US diplomat sentenced to life for abusing two girls in Burkina Faso

A United States citizen has been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing two teenage girls while working at the US embassy in Burkina Faso.

The US Department of Justice said 41-year-old Fode Sitafa Mara, from Maryland, was sentenced on Wednesday following a two-week trial in October 2025 in the state’s federal District Court.

A 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.

The prosecution was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Justice Department in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation.

BBC