Suspected child molester caught after he accidentally sent video of the crime to victim’s parents

Police in the East Java capital of Surabaya arrested a suspected child molester thanks to his own carelessness with sensitive content in his phone.

According to the police, the suspect, identified by his initials MFTR (21), molested a middle schooler identified by her initials NA (15) in August. MFTR also recorded a video of the incident.

“The video of the molestation was kept for his personal collection in his phone,” said Ruth Yeni, who heads Surabaya Police’s Women and Child Protection Unit, as quoted by Kompas yesterday.

Though the police did not say who the intended recipient was, MFTR later accidentally sent the video to NA’s parents via Whatsapp.

Her parents then reported their suspicion that their daughter was molested to the police, leading to MFTR’s arrest on Dec. 3.

MFTR was charged with child molestation under the Child Protection Law.

“The suspect may face a maximum of 15 years in prison,” Ruth said.

Also read: Indonesian teacher accused of molesting 18 students says he used the Quran to swear victims to secrecy