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Court drops charges against elderly man accused of sexually abusing 4 sisters

07 August 2018, MVT 21:34
The 75-year-old man, who was accused of sexually molesting four sisters in an island of Gaafu Dhaal Atoll, pictured riding on a motorbike in capital Male.
07 August 2018, MVT 21:34

Thinadhoo Magistrate Court has annulled the case of a 75-year-old man accused of molesting four sisters in an island in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll.

The court did not disclose any reason behind the annulment.

The 75-year-old man is accused of sexually molesting four sisters, and committing adultery with a married woman, the mother of the four girls.

The Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office had forwarded the charges to Thinadhoo Magistrate Court in the month of July. Previously, the case was undertaken by the magistrate court on the island of the incident in February. No hearings have been conducted regarding the case.

The PG Office has disclosed its intention to appeal the case at the High Court.

The mother and stepfather of the four girls are being charged with parental negligence, as the girls were all minors during the period of abuse. They are also being indicted for knowingly covering up sexual abuse of children.

Their mother faces additional charges for being an accessory to the crime, and adultery.

The eldest sister, currently aged 26, had told local newspaper Mihaaru, that the man began molesting her when she was only 14, and had on numerous accounts assaulted her and her sisters over the past 12 years.

She had reported the case to the police and brought it to the media's attention after she fled to capital Male following alleged years of abuse.

The man had built the house the girls and their mother were living in, and helped them out financially, which made them reluctant to speak out against the abuse earlier.

Reportedly, he was a prominent figure in the island and owned a shop there. He would allegedly lure his victims by offering them food and clothes from his shop, and even offering to pay for refurbishments of their homes.

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