Siem Reap police on Wednesday arrested a construction worker for the attempted rape of a 10-year-old girl who is believed to have been targeted because she is mute and has polio, officials said.
Siem Reap City police chief Tith Narong said the suspect, 34-year-old Chhin Vuthy, snuck into the girl’s house in Kokchak commune early on Wednesday morning following a night of drinking at his nearby home.
“He went to the victim’s house and [tried to] rape her at about 3 a.m. The suspect thought because she was mute and had polio the family would not know,” he said.
“When the suspect tried to take the victim’s clothes off, she was struggling to get away.
Then the parents heard the noise and woke up,” he said, adding that the mother and father detained the suspect until commune police arrived.
He was sent to the Siem Reap provincial anti-human trafficking bureau last night, Mr. Narong said.
Provincial penal police chief Duong Sokha said the suspect will be taken to the provincial court today, where he is expected to be charged with attempted rape.
