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Blitar Police arrest man for abusing step-granddaughter
The girl's neighbors reported the suspected abuse after speaking to her about the changes they noticed in her physical appearance.
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Illustration of child abuse (Shutterstock/File)
T
he Blitar Police have arrested a 66-year-old grandfather in Gembongan village in the East Java city for sexually abusing and impregnating his 13-year-old step-granddaughter, who has just entered junior high school.
Blitar Police criminal investigation head Heri Sugiono said that officers had arrested Sobari, a farm worker, after receiving a report from local residents on Thursday.
Heri said Sobari had confessed to police that he had molested his granddaughter seven times over a period of 2 months when the victim was still in sixth grade at elementary school.
“He is even alleged to have molested the victim next to her grandmother, who is sick in bed,” Heri told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Neighborhood unit head Nuryanto said Sobari's daughter was the victim’s stepmother . His wife Katemi, 54, whom he had married about ten years ago, had been suffering complications due to a stroke for the last two years.
Nuryanto said that the victim and her biological father lived with her stepmother at Sobari’s house. The victim’s biological mother had divorced her father and left when she was a child.
“On one hand, her stepmother has polio. On the other, her father is a busy man who works by hunting snails in the evening,” he added.
Nuryanto said the case unfolded when several neighbors became suspicious on noticing physical changes in the victim.
“A week ago, they decided to take her to the village hall for a conversation,” he said. “It turned out that [the neighbors'] suspicions were correct, and based on an examination by a midwife, the victim was [found to be] four months pregnant.”
Heri said that Sobari was arrested under Article 81 of Law No. 17/2016 on child protection, which carried a sentence of 5 to 15 years.
“After investigating the case, the police will push for maximum punishment, including the consideration of castration as stipulated in the law,” said Heri.
