Special sitting for rape case

A MAN appeared before a Lae District Court special sitting on Wednesday accused of the sexual penetration of a minor.
The incident was alleged to have taken place in Lae last month and the victim was under the age of 15.
The accused appeared before Magistrate Tera Dawai at a special court sitting charged with raping the 13-year-old girl on April 20, 2020, at Bumbu Barracks in Lae.
The court heard that on the date at around midday, the defendant went to work to see his manager and on his way back home sat near the Bumbu Police Barracks in Lae near an elementary school.
It was alleged that the victim was on her way to buy an ice block and on her return the accused called her and lured her into the nearby bushes beside the barracks where he raped her.
The accused fled the scene after a woman approached the area they were in.
The defendant was then caught by some youths and handed over to police.
The victim was later taken to the hospital for medical treatment.
The matter returns on Aug 5.