Police authorities in Yei River County have arrested a 35-year-old man allegedly accused of raping a three-year-old girl in the Dar-el salam residential area of Yei River County recently.
Yei River County police commissioner Major general Yoasa Lujang Kamba told Radio Tamazuj that the suspect has been remanded at Yei Central Prison pending court proceedings.
“A man of 35 years raped a girl of 3 years and we suspected the man attempted to rape but when we sent the girl for medical examination, the medical report by the doctor indicated that the girl had sperms in her womb. We have arrested the man and want him to be taken to court so that people refrain from such acts,” he said.
Doctor Joseph Malish at Yei civil hospital confirmed the girl is stable and in good health. “The girl is fine she has been provided with medication and she is recovering well,” he added.
Human rights activists in the county are demanding that the suspect be publicly prosecuted, claiming that most sexual perpetrators found guilty of rape are often set free without trial.
“I am urging for the perpetrator to face the court of law because many times we have been blaming the army and now civilians are the once raping young girls and women and the perpetrator must be punished according to books of law,” Hawa Adam, a women rights activist in Yei in Yei River County demanded.
“We need to see that this person is brought before the court and we call on the law stakeholders to hold such people accountable because people who are harassing girls in the community must be punished so that it acts as an example for young people and others not to repeat such acts within the community,” child rights activist Mutto Emmanuel pleaded.
South Sudan laws provide for the protection of women and girls from sexual abuse and exploitation, gender-based violence, including rape, early and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation.