A 49-year-old gardener at an NGO in Phnom Penh was sentenced yesterday to 12 years in prison for raping a 13-year-old girl.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court judge Top Chhunheng found Phouk Chamroeun guilty of rape under aggravated circumstances.

“The court decided to sentence him to 12 years [in prison] and ordered him to pay 5 million riel [$1,250] in compensation to the victim,” Chhunheng said.

“He has the right to oppose this court’s decision and appeal to the Appeal Court within 30 days if he does not accept it,” he added.

Pen Thol, chief of Teuk Thla commune police, said Chamroeun was arrested at his rented home in Sen Sok district’s O Bek Ka Om village on December 14, 2013.

The arrest followed a complaint from the victim’s mother, whose daughter, a garbage collector, had told her about the crime.

Chamroeun declined to comment yesterday.