232 cases of child sexual abuse filed last year, only two concluded
In 2020, 232 charges were brought to court in relation to 29 crimes of a sexual nature against children
(File photo) from a photo against child sexual abuse
Prosecutor General (PG) Hussain Shameem has revealed that while 232 instances of sexual abuse against children were reported in 2020, trials had been completed in only two of those cases at court.
PG Shameem made the revelation through his personal blog. In the post, he confirmed that in the year 2020, 232 charges were brought to court in relation to 29 crimes of a sexual nature against children. Shameem added that 169 persons were charged with sexual abuse of a minor last year, and that statistics showed an average of 19 such cases being forwarded to court every month. In the previous year of 2019, this average was lower, with 12 cases of child sexual abuse taken to court on average every month.
PG Shameem's breakdown of the statistics showed that in 2019, 142 charges relating to 23 crimes of a sexual nature against minors had been forwarded to court. 102 persons were recorded as the recipients of said charges. PG Shameem further revealed that the court had announced verdicts in 15 cases of child sexual abuse in 2019, which is 10.5 percent of the total cases forwarded to court. He noted that 85 cases from 2019 were still pending a verdict at court, which makes up 60 percent of cases admitted to court.
According to prosecutor general, the 65 percent increase noted in the number of people convicted for sexual crimes against children between 2019 and 2020 represented the a strengthening of the public's faith in the judicial justice system. PG Shameem added that the people now understood the government's commitment to take action for such serious crimes, and that the framework for collecting evidence and successfully prosecuting criminals in cases of sexual abuse against children had also improved.
Prosecutor General Shameem assumed office on 8 December 2019, and has been pursuing successful conclusions and prosecution for serious cases of great importance and national interest, such as ones involving grand corruption, money laundering and various crimes perpetrated against young children.
