The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) serious sexual offences statistics for September has unveiled a worrying trend with 25 out of 34 victims below the age of 18.
According to the ODPP, 43 people were charged with a total of 96 counts of separate incidents last month.
Of the 43, 12 were juveniles and of the 34 victims, two were male and 32 were female.
“There were 15 incidents where the victims and the accused were related to one another,” the ODPP said.
“There was one incident where two 16-year-old boys and two 17-year-old boys were charged with six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault of an eight-year-old boy from their village. The DPP has sanctioned the charges and the file has been sent to police to charge the suspects.”
Listed as part of the offences were 67 cases of rape, one of attempted rape, 12 cases of aiding and abetting rape, two of indecent assault, four of defilement and 10 sexual assault cases.
“In another incident, two 14-year-old boys, two 17-year-old boys, two 20-year-old men and one 21- year-old man were charged with two counts of rape and 12 counts of aiding and abetting the rape of a 13-year-old boy from their village.
“The DPP has sanctioned the charges and the file has been sent to police to charge the suspects.
“A 15-year-old boy was charged with four counts of rape of his 15-year-old niece while in another incident, a 16-year-old boy was charged with the rape and indecent assault of his seven-year-old niece.
“In another incident, a 16-year-old boy was charged with the rape and sexual assault of his 11-year-old stepsister while in another incident, a 16-year-old was charged with the defilement of his 16-year-old girlfriend.”
In many of the incidents, the perpetrator was known to the victim.
There was one incident where a 37-year-old man was charged with the rape of his four-year-old daughter.
In another incident, a 33-year-old man was charged with five counts of rape of his 11-year-old stepdaughter.
One of the oldest perpetrators, a 70-year-old man, was charged with the defilement of a 15-year-old girl from his village.
