Tangiers (Morocco) - (AFP) - The Moroccan judiciary decided on Wednesday to prosecute a new defendant in the case targeting French businessman Jacques Petit and a number of his aides on charges of sexual harassment, based on a complaint from six young women, according to the plaintiffs' lawyer.

Lawyer Aisha Klaa told AFP that the investigating judge who is looking into this case decided to prevent the new suspect, a French citizen residing in Morocco, from traveling, withdrawing his passport and subjecting him to judicial control.

The latter is added to two other French men and six Moroccans who are under investigation on charges ranging from "human trafficking" to "sexual harassment" and "verbal and moral violence".

Six of them are being pursued while they are in a state of preventive detention, and they were officials of the branch of the "Asso 2000" group in Tangiers in the north of the kingdom, which was run by Potei.

This case was opened after former employees of this company filed a complaint against Bottier and a number of his assistants, on charges of sexual harassment.

On Wednesday, the investigative judge in the Criminal Chamber of the Tangiers Court of Appeal heard in detail all the nine suspects, according to Kalaa.

It is expected that he will continue to investigate them and hold confrontations with civil rights claims on October 6th.

The incidents took place between 2018 and April 2022 in the Moroccan branch of the French group.

This case was opened while charges of human trafficking and rape of minors were brought against Petit, a 75-year-old wealthy businessman, and five other people on May 21 in Paris after a preliminary investigation in mid-March.

He is also wanted for criminal conspiracy to kidnap people, as well as possession of child pornography.