Police in Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung have arrested a teenager who was filmed sexually assaulting a little girl in a mosque, in an incident that triggered immense outrage in the country.
Related — Bangka Belitung police hunt man who was filmed sexually assaulting little girl in mosque
After three days of hiding, the suspect, identified as 16-year-old IZ, was arrested in the early hours of this morning at his friend’s house. Police said they initially had trouble identifying him and that the culprit hopped from one hiding place to another during his run.
IZ confessed to sexually assaulting the little girl in the mosque.
“When he was interrogated, he said the incident began after he had just watched porn. After watching the video, there emerged a desire to commit the act,” Adi Putra, who heads the Crime Investigation Unit at the Pangkalpinang Police, said today.
Police haven’t announced the charges against IZ, but sexual assault on a minor is a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Considering that IZ himself is a minor, he may be handed a reduced sentence and counseling.
CCTV cameras at the mosque captured the heinous crime on May 17. In a widely circulating video, IZ is seen walking into the women’s section of the mosque during evening prayer. He then approached a girl, whose mother was praying in front of her, and sexually assaulted her while they were both fully clothed.
The incident outraged many in Indonesia that there were calls for the perpetrator to be chemically castrated in line with a controversial new law passed with the intention to deter child molesters.
