34-year-old woman arrested on defilement charges
What you need to know:
- The Ugandan law defines defilement as the act of having sexual intercourse with a person under 18.
- The offence attracts a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, according to the laws in Uganda.
- A total of 140 boys aged between six and 17 were defiled in 2020, with the youngest victim being an eight-year-old boy, according to the 2020 Annual Police Crime and Traffic Safety Report.
Police in Lamwo District are holding a 34-year-old female staff of Lukung Health Centre III on allegations of defiling a 15-year-old boy.
The suspect who is currently detained at Lamwo Central Police Station works at the facility as an information assistant. She was arrested on Friday evening from Lamwo District headquarters where she had turned up for a workshop.
She’s said to have committed the offence on October 12, 2021, but has since been on the run.
A statement recorded at the police indicates that the suspect while at Lukung Health Centre III staff quarters, followed her neighbor’s 15-year-old son to the bathroom where she allegedly defiled him at around 7:30pm.
The victim’s mother told police that she was prompted to follow up on her son after he took so long to return from the bathroom. She told police that she was shocked to find the suspect having sexual intercourse with her son in the bathroom.
A scuffle ensued between the victim’s mother and the suspect before she (suspect) fled the facility. She went into hiding until February 18, 2022 when she turned up for a workshop.
Police said the victim was subjected to a medical examination whose results indicated that he had been defiled.
The Aswa river region police spokesman, Mr David Ongom Mudong, said a case file is being processed to have the suspect arraigned before a court on Monday.
“It is true she was arrested and is being held at Lamwo Central Police Station waiting to be charged in court on Monday. A case of defilement has been preferred against her. It is so unfortunate that an adult woman who is expected to protect juveniles against perpetrators of defilement instead ended up victimizing him. The police condemn such acts and shall ensure that the suspect faces the law,” he said.
According to Mr Ongom, the suspect will also be subjected to medical examination to ascertain her health status.
The Ugandan law defines defilement as the act of having sexual intercourse with a person under 18.
A total of 140 boys aged between six and 17 were defiled in 2020, with the youngest victim being an eight-year-old boy, according to the 2020 Annual Police Crime and Traffic Safety Report.
Data from the report showed that 1,280 girls and boys aged eight years and below and 2,986 teens aged between nine and 14 years, had been defiled.
The offence attracts a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, according to the laws in Uganda.
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