A 44-year-old farmer in Koh Kong province was charged on Saturday with rape with aggravating circumstances after confessing to sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl at his home in Botum Sakor district, according to police.
Roth Tha confessed to “using his finger to penetrate the victim’s genitals, but said he didn’t rape [her],” according to Men Buntha, chief interrogator in the provincial police’s serious crime bureau.
The rape occurred on Thursday when the victim and her 3-year-old sister were playing at Mr. Tha’s house, located across the street from their own home, according to Mr. Buntha, who said their parents were working on a plantation at the time.
After the rape, “the girl and her sister ran about 2 km and told their grandmother,” he said.
The victim was sent to the provincial referral hospital on Friday and was released on Saturday, he added.
Provincial court spokesman Chhin Long said Mr. Tha was charged with rape with aggravating circumstances and sent to provisional detention on Saturday morning.
Rape is defined in the Criminal Code as an “act of sexual penetration with a sexual organ or an object.”
