A former United Nations employee who drugged and sexually assaulted 20 women was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Karim Elkorany, 39, was sentenced by Manhattan federal Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald for committing sex crimes over 17 years in different countries, according to New York U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
«Elkorany perpetrated monstrous acts against several women over nearly two decades. In today’s proceedings, he has been held accountable by the court and also by his victims, some of whom confronted him with powerful statements about the grave harm he caused with his horrific conduct,» Williams said, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The accused, Karim Elkorany, drugged or sexually assaulted some 20 women over 17 years in countries such as Iraq, Egypt and the United States. Some of the crimes were committed while he was working for the UN, until 2018.
In May, Elkorany pleaded guilty to one count of assault and lying to FBI agents. He also admitted to sexually assaulting 13 women and drugging six other victims, as part of a plea deal with the Justice Department.
«This was not fleeting conduct,» said U.S. Attorney Lara Pomerantz, who reiterated that the defendant «did over and over again» the crimes, thus recognizing a pattern in his conduct, involving many women.
UNICEF, which noted that some of the crimes were committed while he was a temporary member of its staff, has «welcomed the conclusion of the prosecution».
«The horrific violence he perpetrated should never have happened and must never be tolerated. Our hearts go out to the victims,» a statement from the United Nations Children’s Fund said.
UNICEF has also explained that its investigations offices received no formal complaints about the behavior, which became public after he left his position at the organization in late 2016 with the filing of several complaints by victims.
«Since then, we have been cooperating with the various investigations and providing what support we can, within the scope of the information that is available to us,» the organization has clarified.
