By JAMES APA GUMUNO
A 14-year-old girl was held captive by her abductor for three weeks and was allegedly repeatedly raped in the Western Highlands province, police said.
The man, who was described as an “elderly man” locked her up in a house in Dei district and raped her repeatedly before she escaped.
Provincial police commander chief Insp Ambane Kaiglo said the girl was abducted in Mt Hagen city early this month by the suspect and taken to Manda block in the Dei district.
Police learned that he had kept her locked in the house when he was out, and only return for sex.
This happened for three weeks until she escaped from the house when the abductor was not around last Wednesday.
Mr Ambane said both the girl and the suspect were from Kagua district in the Southern Highlands province.
He said when the girl escaped, the suspect fled the block and his whereabouts was unknown to police.
Mr Ambane expressed concern that rape was becoming prevalent in the province, with between one and three cases reported every day.
He said the cases could be higher as relatives of victims kept such attacks “quiet” to seek compensation.
Mr Ambane said compensation was not helping to fight the escalating incidences of rape in the province.
He also blamed the widespread consumption of alcohol, homebrew and marijuana for the rise in these crimes.