Siem Reap provincial court on March 23 has placed a man into pre-trial detention for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl in Char Chhouk commune of Siem Reap province’s Angkor Chum district on March 20.
Provincial deputy police chief Duong Thavry said 74-year-old Mai Mean and the girl lived next door.
“The suspect was charged with having sex with a minor aged under 15 under Article 42 of the Law on Prevention of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation,” she said.
The suspect faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.
Commune deputy police chief Seav Dean said that the victim is the second child of three siblings. Every day since January 2021, the victim often watched TV at the suspect’s house. When his family members were not home or did not watch TV with them, it was a good opportunity for him to commit the crime. It is suspected that he threatened her not to tell her parents or someone else about the abuse, or he would kill her.
According to the victim, the suspect always lured her away and gave her some money before petting or sometimes raping her.
Seav said on March 20 the victim’s mother noticed that her daughter looked abnormal. After the mother asked her some questions, she said what had happened to her. The mother then made a complaint to authorities who questioned the suspect at the commune police station. The suspect confessed to the allegations, confessing that he had raped her six times.
“The answer of the suspect is consistent with the child’s. Therefore, the authorities have enough evidence to arrest him,” he confirmed.
Licadho deputy director Am Sam Ath told The Post on 23 March that he observed that there were many cases of violence against children, such as sexual assault and physical abuse. Some children were physically and sexually abused by their fathers, stepfathers and other relatives, while other girls were victims of other forms of violence.
“A lack of education about sexual abuse, violence against the children, and sometimes failure to seek justice for the children and punishment of some perpetrators are contributors to child abuse,” he said.
