Former American embassy employee Fode Sitafa Mara will spend life in prison for repeatedly raping two girls while working in Burkina Faso.
Mara, 41, lived in an embassy-leased apartment in Ouagadougou while working in Burkina Faso. The person who lived in the apartment before him knew the girls and their family, who lived nearby without running water, and helped provide food and safety, court documents said. According to prosecutors, Mara capitalized on the former relationship and his newfound access to the girls, who were 13 and 15 years old.
The sexual abuse went on for about a year from 2022 to 2023. The girls' mother had a life-threatening illness, prosecutors say, and Mara would tell the girls he could not help them without "receiving something in return." He gave the girls phones so he could call them over while his wife was away, and sent one of the girls sexual messages on that phone. He also attempted to get his housekeeper to lie to U.S. investigators to cover up his crimes.
Mara was found guilty of six of seven counts by a jury on Nov. 3, 2025. Last Wednesday, he was sentenced to five life sentences, plus another 240 months for the final count, to be served concurrently. He will spend the rest of his life in prison.
"Our message is clear, those who prey on our children will pay a hefty price," said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland. "Mara targeted and abused two innocent young girls, and now he’ll be behind bars for a long time where he belongs."
Both girls submitted victim impact statements to the court for his sentencing. The sisters wrote that his abuse deeply traumatized them and changed how they view themselves. One also wrote that it severely damaged their relationship with one another and their family. Both said they were terrified that if Mara was released from prison that he would come back to Burkina Faso and retaliate against them.
Their social worker, who worked with the girls after the abuse and sat with them throughout their testimony, also submitted a restitution affidavit calling for Mara to pay each of the girls 50,000 F.CFA each month to cover therapy costs until they are 26 years old for a total of 10,200,000 F.CFA. At the current exchange rate, that comes out to around $18,218 USD. The court ordered Mara to pay $18,419 in restitution.
Three letters in support of Mara were submitted to the court from his wife and each of her parents, plus his 2017 nomination for Student of the Year from the New York Association for Community/Continuing Education.
The case was tried in Maryland because the crimes occurred inside the apartment was reserved U.S. diplomatic personnel use and therefore was under American jurisdiction.