A French soldier accused of sexually abusing two girls aged three and five in Burkina Faso has been charged* with paedophilia and recording pornographic images in France, reports RFI.
The 38-year-old special forces soldier was charged in Friday after being suspended and repatriated to France earlier in the week.
A 36-year-old soldier who was with him has been released without charge.
The two were brought back to France after being interrogated in Ouagadougou, where the mother of one of the girls found the camera with the film on it and complained to the French embassy.
The charged man is alleged to have sexually assaulted the girls in a hotel swimming pool.
Read more of this report from RFI.
*Editor's note: Under a change to the French legal system introduced in 1993, a magistrate can decide a suspect should be 'placed under investigation' (mise en examen), which is a status one step short of being charged (inculpé), if there is 'serious or concordant' evidence that they committed a crime. Some English-language media describe this status, peculiar to French criminal law, as that of being charged. In fact, it is only at the end of an investigation that a decision can be made to bring charges, in which case the accused is automatically sent for trial.