Man sentenced to life imprisonment over sexual abuse of woman and children
The accused were charged on 30 December 2020 with a total of 12 counts.
Top Stories
-
MDP says new civil service dress rules discriminate against women
-
MQA takes action against Avid College over unauthorised courses
-
Court orders Sunny Umar to remain in custody pending trial
-
New EC portal allows voters to join or leave parties directly
-
Thalassaemia patients to receive MVR 2,000 monthly allowance
The Criminal Court on Wednesday sentenced a man to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting a woman and her three children after luring them under the pretext of conducting ruqya.
The case relates to incidents reported in November 2020, when two men were arrested on allegations of physically and sexually assaulting a woman and her three children, all under the age of 18. The accused were charged on 30 December 2020 with a total of 12 counts.
The primary accused, Ismail Waheed, of Mirihimaage, R. Kandholhudhoo, was convicted on seven charges. The court imposed a cumulative sentence amounting to life imprisonment, calculated as 25 years, 10 months and 24 days. The sentences included:
-
11 years’ imprisonment for intentionally touching a child with sexual intent
-
Seven years’ imprisonment for committing a sexual act in the presence of a child with intent or belief that a child would witness it
-
Three years’ imprisonment for sexual assault
-
Three years’ imprisonment for exploitation of a child
-
One year, seven months and six days’ imprisonment for unauthorised detention
-
Two months and 12 days’ imprisonment for assault
-
One month and six days’ imprisonment for assault
The second accused, Mohamed Asil, of Dhilsaadhuaage, R. Kandholhudhoo, was charged with five counts for assisting in unlawfully detaining the woman while knowing she was being abused. He was sentenced to a total of six years, nine months and 18 days in prison. His convictions included:
-
Three years’ imprisonment for child neglect
-
Two years’ imprisonment for failure to report exploitation of a child
-
One year, seven months and six days’ imprisonment for unauthorised detention
-
One month and six days’ imprisonment for assault
-
One month and six days’ imprisonment for assault
The victim’s family has previously stated that they were detained for approximately three months and subjected to abuse during that period. The Ministry of Education also reviewed the case after it was reported that the children were not attending school.
