French-Lebanese musician Maalouf found guilty over schoolgirl sexual assault

The French court has given Ibrahim Maalouf a Dh83,377 fine and a suspended prison term

(FILES) In this file photo taken on July 16, 2016 French musician Ibrahim Maalouf performs in Carhaix-Plouguer, western of France during the third day of the 25th edition of the Festival des Vieilles Charrues. The court of Creteil on November 23, 2018, condemned Maalouf to a four-month suspended prison sentence for sexual assault on a 14-year-old girl in 2013.  / AFP / FRED TANNEAU
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Star trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf, famed for his award-winning film soundtracks and mixing of eastern and western sounds, was handed a suspended prison sentence for sexual assault on Friday by a French court.

Maalouf, 37, was found guilty of assaulting a 14-year-old schoolgirl who was doing work experience at his music studio in a suburb southeast of Paris in 2013. The girl, now aged 19, testified in court that Maalouf had kissed her and grabbed her without her consent.

French trumpet player and pianist Ibrahim Maalouf arrives at the justice court of Creteil on November 9, 2018. Star trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf goes on trial in Creteil for kissing a 14-year-old girl while she was his intern. / AFP / Philippe LOPEZ
An image of Maalouf arriving at the justice court of Creteil on November 9, 2018. AFP

Maalouf denied the allegations and portrayed her as an infatuated fan who was bitter after being rejected. The court in Creteil, a southeastern suburb of Paris, handed him a 20,000 euro (Dh83,377) fine as well as a suspended four-month prison term.

Born in Lebanon, Maloouf fled with his parents, both musicians, during the country's 15-year civil war and settled in France.

He plays a four-pistoned instrument invented by his trumpeter father in the 1960s, as well as playing the piano, composing and teaching.

He has played with Sting and Elvis Costello among other music stars and last year won French cinema's highest award, a Cesar, for the soundtrack of the film In the Forests of Siberia.

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