France’s early-release program put on hold

PARIS (AP) — French President Nicolas Sarkozy called Monday for a halt to early prison release for some pedophiles after a 5-year-old boy was allegedly raped by a repeat sex offender who had been prescribed Viagra while behind bars.

The boy was kidnapped from his home in the northern town of Roubaix on Wednesday and allegedly molested by convicted pedophile Francis Evrard. The 61-year-old, convicted three times, was released from prison in July.

Sarkozy, on his first day back from a two-week vacation in the United States, drew attention to the case Monday by hosting the boy’s father and meeting with ministers about amending prison laws to prevent early release for some convicted pedophiles.

Sarkozy said the French were “very shocked” at the case and expressed his own anger.

“Everything must be put in place to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” he told reporters.

“What happened? A person who over his career committed several rapes of minors was sentenced to 27 years in prison — he served 18,” said Sarkozy, referring to Evrard. “I don’t understand why.”

Working off a new kidnapping alert system that quickly went into effect, authorities found Evrard and the boy in a Roubaix garage about 12 hours after the child went missing, officials said.

Police and prison officials in the Normandy city of Caen, where Evrard served his sentence, said a prison doctor had acknowledged prescribing him Viagra a month before his release, but that the doctor did not know why he was behind bars.

The doctor turned himself in to Caen police Sunday and was being held for questioning, the officials said. Evrard faces preliminary charges related to the kidnap and rape of a minor.