13-yo child "bride": Hammaadh charged with sexual harassment of minor

The Prosecutor General’s Office has raised charges against Ismail Hammaadh, who raped and impregnated a 13-year-old.

Public Prosecutor at the PG office, Ahmed Shafeeu told RaajjeMV that he has been charged with sexual harassment of a minor, adding that the case was filed at the Criminal Court on Wednesday.

Taking to Twitter following the matter, Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem stated that they are “very serious” over this and that there is "no joking around."

As the law clearly states the repercussions of “touching a minor with sexual intentions”, the child rapist stands to face a jail term between 10 – 14 years.

Other charges are also expected to be raised against Hammaadh, including rape charges.

The issue of the 13-year-old child bride came into the spotlight after Hammaadh was attacked on a sea-cucumber fishing boat outside of Maalhos island in Alif Alif atoll on November 21. While he was hospitalized until 30 November, he was arrested upon discharge regarding the 13-year-old child bride’s case. While the child is to have given birth since, DNA tests have proven that the child is Hammaadh’s.

The attack on Hammaadh is to have been caused by a “disagreement” with his crewmates, and Ismail Asif, 30, has since been arrested and remanded in connection to the attack.

While Maldives Police Service (MPS) began a joint operation with the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) in Maduvvari island following reports of rising extremism on the island, with the Commissioner of Police, Mohamed Hameed having revealed that there are about 1,400 individuals in the country, “willing to kill” at the slightest provocation. During the operation, a second case of a pregnant 13-year-old child bride emerged, following which authorities have taken the child under their protection.