A 41-year-old man walked free as Cibinong District Court acquitted him from sexual abuse offense. However, the Supreme Court overruled the verdict and sent him to 11 years in prison and paid Rp 60 million (US$4,300) fine.
he Supreme Court has found a 41-year-old man in Cibinong, West Java, identified as HI, guilty of sexually abusing two children in his neighborhood after he had earlier been declared innocent by the Cibinong District Court in Bogor, West Java.
According to the ruling, HI must serve an 11-year sentence and pay a Rp 60 million (US$4,300) fine for violating articles 81 and 82 of Law No. 35/2014 on child protection.
“The verdict was handed down by presiding Justice Suhadi alongside Justice Margono and Justice Desnayetty on the panel of justices,” Supreme Court spokesman Andi Samsan Nganro told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
On March 25, Judge Askandar at the Cibinong District Court had acquitted HI, despite HI himself having confessed to repeatedly molesting a 14-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl, who went by pseudonyms Joni and Jeni, over the last three years.
Askandar handed down the acquittal by arguing that there was no eyewitness who could confirm the assaults had taken place. His verdict urged the prosecutors handling the case to file an appeal with the Supreme Court.
The prosecutors demanded 14 years of imprisonment, while the Child Protection Law stipulates a maximum prison term of 15 years for child sexual abuse.
The Legal Aid Foundation of the Indonesian Women’s Association for Justice (LBH APIK), which assisted the victims, expressed satisfaction with the court’s ruling.
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