Phnom Penh: On 22nd of May 2019, The Siem Reap provincial court charged one U.S. American national from Florida, aged 38, with the crime of Indecent Act against a Minor under Fifteen Years under the Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation.
After four underage girls (aged 12-15) disclosed the abuse, the police, with an approval from the courtprosecutor, proceeded to bring the suspect from his rented house in Siem Reap to the police station for questioning on May 20th, 2019. The suspect was then remanded in pre-trial detention at the provincial prison. Siem Reap’s Anti- Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection (AHTJP) Police commenced the investigation after receiving information from APLE. Four girls were identified and interviewed by the police, leading to the arrest of the suspect.
Initially, APLE received a report from a local NGO partner who became concerned about the suspect’s behaviour towards underage girls in Siem Reap. APLE started gathering more information and collaborated with the police to investigate the possible violation. APLE Cambodia and its partner organisation will continue to assess, monitor and provide support to the girl victims in order for them to recover from trauma and carry on with their lives in the healthiest way possible. APLE will provide legal aid services to the girls and their families shall they request so during their participation in further legal justice seeking process.
