A Cairo court sentenced Michael Fahmy to life imprisonment for luring, kidnapping, taking advantage of and sexually assaulting underage girls from the Coptic Christian community in Egypt. Fahmy’s wife, who was also charged by the Egyptian Public Prosecution for assisting Fahmy, was acquitted by the court.

During the trial, the Egyptian Public Prosecution had revealed that Fahmy kidnapped and taken advantage of six young girls, luring them in on the basis he was a psychiatrist and that they needed treatment and ‘special examination’. The girls were subjected to various forms of sexual assault, which Fahmy had argued to them was for their well-being.

The Public Prosecution was able to establish evidence, including multiple witness testimonies, that proved Fahmy’s actions. Evidence that was uncovered also included written letters from the victims and video footage capturing the sexual crimes. Further, it was revealed that Fahmy was not a registered practitioner.

Fahmy was first exposed in October 2020, with the hashtag #M_F_Sexual_Abuser (#المتحرش_م_ف) going viral. M.F. referred to the initials of Fahmy, who was accused of posing as a ‘spiritual guide’ and using his profession to lure underage girls from the Coptic Christian community.

The abuses date back to at least 2014, with social media posts being published by some users as a warning to young women in 2018. Even earlier, a news report from Copts Today, a publication focused on news from the Coptic Christian community, spread a warning by Bishop Rafael in 2014 of abuse carried out by a man posing as a psychiatrist, believed to be Fahmy.

Fahmy and his wife were eventually arrested and referred to trial in April 2021.

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