Yesterday, the Denpasar Court sentenced 23-year-old I Kadek Agus Suarnata Putra, also known as Dek Kaduk, to seven years in prison for statutory rape.
“The defendant’s actions have ruined the future of his victim, who is underage,” Judge Adnya Dewi, who heads the panel of judges said, as quoted by Radar Bali.
The judges found him guilty of violating the 2002 Child Protection Law, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for statutory rape.
Previously, prosecutors demanded Dek Kaduk to be sentenced to 10 years in prison for his alleged crime. However, Judge Adnya said Dek Kaduk had several extenuating circumstances that helped his case, including his good behavior and admission of guilt.
“The defendant is still young, so we can hope he will work on his behavior and he has never been convicted,” Judge Adnya said, as quoted by Tribun-Bali.
The victim, who authorities identified as KP, is only 15 years old. The two reportedly met through Instagram in November of last year and later exchanged numbers and started texting on WhatsApp.
According to reports from local media, Dek Kaduk later asked KP to be his girlfriend, and they soon started dating. Dek Kaduk reportedly promised KP they would get married, and the latter obeyed when asked to engage in sexual relations.
It didn’t take long for KP’s parents to find out about their relationship, and they even warned him to stay away. That did did not stop Dek Kaduk and he reportedly continued to have sex with her until KP’s parents decided to file a police report.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the only case of statutory rape in Bali in recent years. Just last week, police in Buleleng regency arrested an 18-year-old man for allegedly having sex with a 12-year-old girl.
