A MAN arrested on Saturday on charges of raping a 14-year-old girl is

currently being detained at Prey Sar prison awaiting trial.

Bith

Kimhong, head of the anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection

police, said that Ka Puthearidth, 26, a former bank employee from

Banteay Meanchey province, has been arrested and charged with the rape

of the girl in a Phnom Penh guesthouse.

"Puthearidth told me that he

didn't rape the girl but that she agreed to come and have sex with him

seven times in the guesthouse," Bith Kimhong said, adding that the

police investigation does indeed indicate that the girl had had

consensual sexual relations with the accused.

However, under

Cambodian law a minor, anyone under the age of 15, cannot consent to

sexual intercourse. "Puthearidth will be facing five to 10 years'

imprisonment for having sex with the girl," he said.

A warning to others

Nob

Sarin Sreyroth, general secretary for Cambodian Women's Crisis Center

(CWCC), said the arrest should serve as a warning to those who are

thinking of sexually exploiting young people.

"Even if the young

person consents to sex, the perpetrators should know that they will be

sent to court to be punished by the law," she said.