Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday, May 15, 2026, by the Draguignan assize court for the rape of a young woman he met in Saint-Tropez in 2018. The court did not issue a warrant for his immediate arrest, allowing him to remain free pending a potential appeal.
Lamjarred, 41, was found guilty of raping the woman at a hotel near Saint-Tropez in October 2018. The verdict came after a trial that heard testimony from the victim, who described the assault. Lamjarred has denied the allegations, and his legal team indicated they would appeal the decision.
The case has drawn significant attention in Morocco and France, where Lamjarred is a well-known pop star. He has faced multiple sexual assault allegations in the past, including a 2016 case in New York that was later dropped, and a 2019 case in Paris that was dismissed. This conviction marks the first time he has been found guilty in a sexual assault case.
The victim's lawyer welcomed the verdict, stating it brought some measure of justice. Lamjarred's lawyer argued that the evidence did not support a conviction and vowed to challenge the ruling in a higher court.
