A 30-year-old man has been arrested for sexually assaulting minors.
While the police do not reveal details of such cases involving children, for their protection, it said that the case is from one of the islands under the Upper North Division; this division comprises of Haa Alifu, Haa Dhaalu and Shaviyani atolls.
The accused is to have sexually assaulted three children, two girls (ages seven and 10) and a 13-year-old boy, on multiple occasions.
While the case was filed at the police on February 12, the offender was arrested two days later under a court order.
There has been an increase in the number of sexual assault cases against minors reported recently, following the rape of a girl under two years that emerged in January this year.
While this led to calls for the resignation of the gender minister, Shidhatha Shareef has since resigned from the post and a new gender minister was appointed this Sunday.
A report compiled by the parliament’s human rights and gender committee reveals that a number of the child sexual abuse offenders were released after counseling in the past, noting that this is an obstruction to providing justice for the victims.