Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal jury convicted Fode Sitafa Mara, 40, of Takoma Park, Maryland, on four counts of aggravated sexual abuse perpetrated against two minors, one count of coercion and enticement, and one count of obstruction.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the conviction with Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti, Justice Department, Criminal Division, and Deputy Assistant Director George Semertsidis, U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS).
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Mara, on multiple occasions, forcibly raped two teenage Burkinabé girls at his Embassy-leased residence in Ouagadougou. Since the residence was reserved for use by U.S. diplomatic personnel, it fell under the United States’s special maritime and territorial jurisdiction.
The minor victims lived in abject poverty a short distance from Mara’s residence. Mara repeatedly sexually abused them for approximately one year, beginning when the victims were 13 and 15 years old. Additionally, Mara was convicted for sending sexually enticing messages to one of the minor victims and for attempting to persuade his housekeeper to lie to U.S. investigators to help him conceal his crimes.
Mara faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 30 years in federal prison and a maximum of life in federal prison for aggravated sexual abuse of a minor charges. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The Honorable Lydia Kay Griggsby scheduled sentencing for Thursday, February 26, 2026.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the DSS’s Office of Special Investigations and its Regional Security Office at the U.S. Embassy in Ouagadougou, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of Inspector General, and Homeland Security Investigations for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ranganath Manthripragada and Brooke Oki, along with Trial Attorney Adam Braskich, Department of Justice – Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, who are prosecuting the federal case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.