A man has been arrested in Oddar Meanchey’s Samroang town for allegedly raping a young girl who lived next door four or five times over the past 12 months.

The girl’s mother had previously suspected the crime but finally reported it to authorities when her daughter confirmed it over the weekend, said local police.

Loek Sokha, deputy police chief of Oddar Meanchey province, said that the suspect, Sinh Chamroeun, also known as Moon, 57, raped his 9-year-old neighbour, and threatened her not to speak out. But the girl reported it to her mother, who filed a complaint with the police in Konkriel commune.

“He raped her at his home in the same village, and he confessed to the rape,” Sokha said. “The mother of the victim had suspected [that he raped her daughter] in the past, but she could not confirm it. On July 3, she decided to file a complaint when he raped again and the girl told her.”

Sokha added that prior to this incident, when the suspect learned the mother had suspected him, he had fled the village, only to return.

Police will send Chamroeun to provincial court today for further investigation.