A former American diplomat who once worked at the United States Embassy in Burkina Faso will spend the rest of his life in prison not in Africa, but in the United States.
Fode Sitafa Mara, 41, from Maryland, was sentenced to life in prison after a federal jury found him guilty of sexually abusing two teenage girls while he was stationed in Ouagadougou. The sentencing took place in a federal court in Maryland after a two-week trial in October 2025.
The crimes happened in 2022 and 2023 inside a residence leased for American diplomatic staff in Burkina Faso’s capital. Because the house was reserved for official use, it fell under US legal control. That detail allowed American prosecutors to bring the case before a US court, even though the abuse happened abroad.
Court evidence showed the two girls were 13 and 15 years old when the abuse began. Prosecutors said they came from a vulnerable background and that Mara took advantage of their situation for about a year.
He was convicted 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. Evidence presented during the trial showed that he provided the girls with mobile phones so he could call them to the residence when his wife was away. He also sent sexually explicit messages to one of them and tried to persuade a housekeeper to mislead investigators.
Prosecutors said he used the girls’ mother’s life-threatening illness to pressure them, telling them he could not help them without receiving something in return.
The case was prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide US initiative launched in 2006 to fight child sexual exploitation.
Assistant Attorney General A Tysen Duva said, “His crimes were reprehensible. While no sentence could undo the harm he caused, today’s outcome demonstrates that those who abuse children – domestically or abroad – will face significant consequences in the American justice system,’’
US Attorney Kelly Hayes for the District of Maryland added, “Our message is clear, those who prey on our children will pay a hefty price,”
US authorities worked with officials in Burkina Faso during the investigation.