Man, 54, charged with sexual abuse

By BOURA GORUKILA
A 54-YEAR-OLD man charged with persistent sexual abuse of two minors was remanded by Waigani Committal Court Magistrate Tracy Ganaii yesterday.
The suspect from Manus was charged with persistent sexual abuse of the two girls, aged 13 and nine, who are related to him at the Rainbow estate in Port Moresby.
It was alleged that between Jan 1, 2015 and Dec 31, 2019, he had been luring the girls with lollies and abusing them.
The suspect is the cousin of the girls’ grandmother and had been living with them.
It was alleged the girls were abused on multiple occasions by the suspect when they returned home from school.
The older sibling alleged that the suspect took her to his market and forced her to hold his genitals.
He then gave her lollies and money and told her not to tell her parents.
This year the girl’s mother noticed that she was not obeying her and asked why she was behaving that way and she told her mother what the suspect had been doing to them over the last five years.
The mother reported the matter to the police and the suspect was brought to the Boroko police station and interviewed.
He was then formally arrested and charged for persistent sexual abuse under section 299D (1) of the criminal code, Sexual Offences and Crimes Against Children Act.
The case was adjourned to Aug 6.