Man charged with rape of 15-year-old

via CAAI

Thursday, 13 January 2011 15:02 Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

KAMPONG Cham provincial court yesterday charged a local man with the rape of a 15-year-old girl following his arrest earlier this month, police said.

Leang Eng, the chief of police in Suong district, said the alleged sexual assault occurred on the evening of January 9 in Suong village. After fielding a complaint from the victim’s family, police found the accused hiding in a rubber plantation a day later and arrested him.

“The suspect was charged with juvenile rape and is being detained at the provincial prison for his upcoming trial,” said Leang Eng. He added that the accused, 25-year-old Morm Thy, could face between 10 and 20 years in prison if convicted.

Kim Rany, assistant officer for rights group Adhoc in Suong district, said the suspect and her assailant previously knew each other because they were neighbours.

Based on information given to Adhoc by the victim’s family, the sexual assault allegedly occurred after the suspect entered the victim’s house at 8pm, where she was watching television alone.

The suspect asked her to come outside, the family claimed, at which point he dragged her to a nearby rubber plantation and raped her several times.

“The suspect ... raped her three times before he freed her to come back to her home at about 11pm,” she said.

Kim Rany said 34 rape cases were reported to Adhoc officials in Kampong Cham in 2010, the majority of which involved girls under the age of 18.