APRIL 13, 1999
HAVANA, April 13 (Reuters) - A court in eastern Cuba has sentenced five Cuban men and two women to jail terms of between three and 30 years for sex offences involving schoolgirls, an official Cuban newspaper said on Tuesday.
The Communist Party daily Granma said the seven were convicted by the court in Camaguey province of repeated crimes of ``corruption of minors'' and procuring. They were accused of forcing a group of secondary school girls to perform sex acts, using promises of money, and in some cases, threats of physical force.
Of the five men convicted, three received jail terms of 30 years, one was sentenced to 27 years and another to 10. The two women were given jail terms of 12 and three years respectively.
Cuba, worried about preserving its growing tourist industry from the threat of sex tourism, recently modified its penal code to toughen penalties for sex offences involving minors.
10:15 04-13-99
Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited