A 26-year-old woman in the East Java capital of Surabaya has reported a pastor at her church to the police for sexual abuse, which she claims went on for 17 years.
According to the victim’s family, the pastor, identified by his initials HL, had been abusing the victim since she was nine years old. Her family found out about the abuse only recently when they were considering HL to officiate her wedding.
“[The family] wanted this pastor to officiate the wedding, because they didn’t know [about the abuse], and that’s when they found out,” Jeannie Latumahina, the family’s spokeswoman, told reporters at the East Java Police HQ yesterday, as quoted by Kumparan.
Jeannie added that the victim is now in deep depression after telling her family about the alleged sexual abuse by HL. She also pointed out that the alleged abuser is not just an ordinary pastor but is the leader of one of the city’s largest churches.
Though the report was filed on Feb. 20, the East Java Police have yet to announce any meaningful updates on their investigation into the allegations.
“Let me review the case files first,” East Java Police spokesman Trunoyudo told reporters yesterday, as quoted by Detik.
Sexual abuse of a minor is a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison in Indonesia.
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