Man in police custody after confessing he raped a minor

A middle aged man has admitted to molesting a minor in Tombura County of Western Equatoria, Police.

The 25 year-old-man allegedly committed the offense in Mabaiku village on Monday.

Kalisto Charles, a Crime Officer told The City Review in a phone interview that the suspect is was locked up at a county prison awaiting arraignment after admitting his crime.

“Since the suspect has confessed, we remanded him to prison this morning as he awaits the trial because this is a capital offense.”

The minor was immediately is recuperating at a local hospital where doctors are still trying to run tests that could be used to pin down the key suspect.

“The condition of the child is gradually improving,” Charles said.

This marked yet another series of rape cases in South Sudan in recent months. Authorities have recorded at least two rape-related death between May and June this year.

On May 4, a seven-year-old girl was raped to death by a trader in Aweil, Northern Bahr el Ghazal State. In less than a month, a 15-year-old teenager was raped by gangs and later hanged by the neck to death in Serikat, a Juba suburb on June 1.

The recent trend has raised eye browses of activities and international communities advocating for the eradication of the vice in the young African country.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Human Rights Division recorded at least 64 violent related sexual and gang rape ca between February and April this year. Most of the cases have not been accounted for.

In 2021, South Sudan posted approximately 330 cases of rape, physical violence, and gender-based violence, making the country one of the unsafe environments for women and girls in the region.

In December 2020, the government with support from partners established a gender-based court in a bid to curb the rampant cases, yet perpetrators continue to act with importunity.