Relatives charged of raping 12-year-old family member

Last updated on May 18th, 2021 at 06:06 am

Five adult men and two boys have been detained accused of raping a 12-year-old girl close to them in Central Thailand’s Suphan Buri province. Most of the suspects are the victim’s relatives and neighbours.

Pol Col Manote Chitphakdi, deputy commander of Suphan Buri police, told a press briefing the victim’s sister, who is also her legal guardian, notified police last Tuesday. her 12 year-old sister had been sexually assaulted by people close to her. The suspects — five adult men and two minors — were identified as the victim’s relatives and neighbours. The five adult men were arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a person under 13 years old; committing indecency with a person under 15 and threatening to use force.

The five adult men were also identified as 21-51-year old men, with two of them being in-laws to the victim. The five were arrested on Saturday, while the two juvenile boys will be summoned for questioning in the future. One of the suspects, a 51-year-old man, reportedly assaulted the victim multiple times. He also threatened to hurt her if she exposed him. The two juveniles allegedly raped the victim more than once. All of the five adult males denied the allegations.

Pol Col Manote said if found guilty, they could be jailed for up to 20 years. He noted they could be jailed for life if threats and weapons were involved in the crime. The deputy commander said no one knew the girl had been raped as the perpetrators are her relatives. Only the victim and her sister knew, but they could not do anything because they were afraid, he said. Adding some of the suspects threatened the victim’s life. The investigation is ongoing.