Police in Lakes State have arrested a man suspected of raping a 10-year-old girl in Cueibet County on Friday.
Lakes State Police Spokesperson Maj Elijah Mabor Makuac told Radio Tamazuj on Saturday night that the Cueibet security apparatus managed to apprehend the man suspected to have committed the offence at a place called Thiang-tok.
Makuac said the man pounced on the girl while she was herding cattle in the forest then fled. He said the security apparatus launched a hunt and apprehended the suspect on Saturday night.
Lakes State Civil Society Network Chairperson Angelina Adhel Malual strongly condemned the incident and urged the local residents to heighten their protection for the children.
“Let us caution them whenever they go to fetch firewood, water or walk around in the evening,” she said.
She urged the government to thoroughly investigate the incident and ensure the prosecution of the culprit.
Malual also called on the Lakes State Ministry of Gender and Social Welfare and the gender based violence (GBV) cluster to raise awareness in the community.
The State Director of Gender and Social Welfare, Alewia Enock Machiek, said that was the third report of defilement in Lakes State in the recent past.
She said the law prescribed the prosecution and a maximum 14 years sentence, without bail, for rape.
Machiek said rape cases had become rampant in Lakes State and must be stopped.