21-yo arrested in connection to a child sexual assault case, amid pandemic

Maldives Police Service (MPS) has arrest a 21-year-old man in connection to a child sexual assault case reported from an island in the central-north province.

Police revealed that officers in the Upper North Province of Maldives comprising of Kaafu, Alif Alif, Alif Dhaalu and Vaavu atolls, received the report on Saturday and a 21-year-old Maldivian man has been arrested in connection to the case.

Involved in the case is a 13-year-old girl, said police, who assured that they investigate cases related to sexual assault against children, as serious cases.

While the case is under further investigations, police refrained from divulging information regarding the victim as it is confidential.

Earlier, it was revealed that two cases of child abuse were identified through the Maldives Child Protection Database (MCPD) during the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, there have been concerns regarding child abuse risks amid the outbreak.

With this being said, the Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services has since assured that their work is ongoing without interruption and that measures to monitor abuse cases have been put in place as well.

Covid-19 spokesperson, Mabrook Aziz has assured that the Ministry of Education is monitoring household situation of children who have been identified as vulnerable and at risk of abuse.

This comes at a time international experts have warned of an increase in child sexual abuse risks due to possible victims as well as offenders having to be placed in isolation for a long period of time due to the measures being taken to curb the pandemic. Schools, educational institutes and government office have been closed for two weeks as part of the restrictive measures being taken in the face of the pandemic.