PARIS -- A French court on Thursday sentenced a former mechanic employed by the United Nations to nine years in prison for raping young girls while he was working in Africa.

The court also ordered that Didier Bourguet, 44, undergo psychiatric treatment.

Bourget was accused of raping some 20 girls aged between 12 and 18 while posted in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo between 1998 and 2004.

The Frenchman, who was responsible for the maintenance of United Nations peacekeeping vehicles, admitted during the trial to having paid sex with the girls, but insisted they had consented.

French state prosecutor Pierre Kramer rejected his defense and said Bourguet showed "an absence of compassion for his victims" living in harsh economic conditions.

Kramer argued that the girls were "under duress given their age and the economic context" of their countries.

The prosecution had asked the Paris court to sentence him to 12 years.

Prosecutors told the court that Bourguet sought out girls through go-betweens during his postings in the Central African Republic from 1998 to 2001 and in DR Congo from 2001 to 2004.

One of the victims, a Congolese girl now aged 16 and living in Canada, told the court she had been abused after being served a cup of tea that had made her dizzy.

A police officer testified that Bourguet had engaged in sexual acts with about 24 girls, paying between $10 and $20 (seven to 14 euros) each time.

Lawyer Emmanuel Daoud representing one of the victims said that between 15,000 and 20,000 rapes were committed each year in the DR Congo by soldiers, rebels and, sometimes, UN personnel, he said.

DR Congo police arrested Bourguet in the eastern city of Goma in October 2004 and turned him over to French authorities.