A teenage boy who allegedly raped his 4-year-old neighbor in Siem Reap province’s Angkor Thom district earlier this month—and attempted to rape her again last week—has been arrested and charged, police said Tuesday.
Deputy district police chief Roh Sovann said the 16-year-old suspect was arrested at his home in Leang Dai commune on Sunday, after police received a complaint from the victim’s parents earlier in the day.
“Ten days before we received the complaint, the suspect raped the girl one time at her house,” Mr. Sovann said, explaining that the teenager had waited for the child’s parents to leave their home to tend to their crops.
“The girl kept quiet because she was afraid the suspect would beat her,” he said.
Mr. Sovann said the girl’s mother then caught the boy attempting to rape her daughter a second time on Thursday.
Following his arrest on Sunday, the boy immediately confessed to raping his young neighbor, according to deputy provincial police chief Thorng Sokun.
Mr. Sokun said the boy was handed over to the Siem Reap Provincial Court on Monday and charged with rape of a minor.
“He was charged with rape with aggravating circumstance,” he said. “We already sent him to pretrial detention at the provincial prison.”
