The Maldives Supreme Court ordered a 20-year jail sentence on a local parent found guilty of two counts of child molestation.
The culprit, identified as the father of the two victims had earlier been acquitted from trial proceedings at the Maldives High Court.
The case was first reported back in October 2013 when the alleged father had sexually molested his two children while their mother was out of town for medical necessity.
Both the island's magistrate court and the High Court had found him not guilty owing to lack of evidence.
The culprit's identity has not been disclosed to the public to protect the victims.
Upon appeal at the Supreme Court, the Maldives apex court stated that the prosecution had gathered evidence comparatively stronger than previous similar cases.
Among the evidence collected against the culprit, the state had confirmed includes, one eye-witness testimony verifying the act of sexual molestation against one of the children.
On the other hand, the victims' aunt testified on witnessing the culprit sexually abusing the younger child on two separate occasions, with one of the incidents culminating with a hostile retaliation by the previously abused elder child.
The elder child had accounted the details of the incident to another member of the family, while they had reiterated the statements to both social workers of the Gender Ministry as well as doctors who had consulted the children.
It was reported that the lower courts rejected testimony of the children's aunt owing to her acquiring medication for a mental ailment.
However, the Supreme Court overturned this statement countering that the court had not observed any evidence that would attest to any lack of mental faculties in the aunt.
Furthermore, the doctor's report confirmed that the children had sustained injuries to their genitals which should ideally not be discovered in children of that age - which confirms they were subjected to sexual abuse.
All three judges of the bench unanimously held a guilty verdict for the alleged father.
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