Sexual assault

Two men were charged with raping a 16-year-old girl in Battambang Provincial Court and were sent to provincial prison for pre-trial detainment, according to police. Run Nak, 23, was charged with rape and Norn Chhoeun, 25, was charged as an accomplice in the rape of the girl on Sunday while she walked home in the Prey Svay commune of Battambang’s Moung Russei district. District police officials arrested the two men on Monday after the victim filed a complaint to police, and the suspects were sent to provincial court on Wednesday, according to Koy Heang, director of the provincial Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Bureau. “They are being detained at the provincial prison for further investigations,” he said. Am Sam Ath, technical supervisor for the local rights group Licadho, said yesterday that 59 rape cases had been recorded this year, up from 32 cases in the same period last year. “We are worried about these rape cases, which are still happening and have increased more than last year within the same period,” he said.