SRI LANKA: A 10-year-old girl has been sexually harassed by a group of people 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a 10-year-old girl (name withheld) has been raped by six persons including her stepfather for over one year. The incident was reported by her teachers at the Hingurakgoda Police Station. Even though all the six persons were identified by the girl, only three perpetrators have been arrested and the others are at large. The villagers suspect that some powerful figures might influence the police not to arrest them. In particular, the teachers have reported to a human rights organization that when they attended the first hearing of the case as witnesses, they were threatened by a group of supporters of the perpetrators.

Please send a letter to the National Child Rights Authority of Sri Lanka using their urgent intervention into this matter. Please also request the local authorities to arrest the rest of the perpetrators and ensure the security of the victim and witnesses.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: A 10-year-old girl (name withheld), residing in Kibulawa, Hingurakgoda, a student (year 5) of Rajaye Govipola Junior College, Hingurakgoda
Alleged perpetrators: 1) R.M. Karunathilaka, the victim’s stepfather (main suspect), 2) Alwis Wijenayake, the stepfather’s brother-in-law, 3) An army deserter, the stepfather’s son-in-law, 4) Duminda Wijenayake, 5) Chandra Jayantha Silva, a businessman, 6) A friend of Chandra Jayantha Silva
Case reported to: Hingurakgoda Police Headquarters in Hingurakgoda. (Case No. B 7420/2004)
Court: Polonnaruwa Magistrates Court

Account of the incident:

When the victim’s mother went abroad to earn money, her aunt (the mother’s elder sister) took care of her. However, after some period, the girl’s stepfather R.M. Karunathilake chased away the aunt and continuously raped her for nearly one year. The girl was also raped by several other persons. First, she was raped by her stepfather’s son-in-law, then by her stepfather’s brother-in-law, named Alwis Wijenayake. Moreover, R.M. Karunathilake (the stepfather) brought the girl to a businessman named Chandra Jayantha Silva and she was sexually harassed by this businessman at his house frequently. The girl testified that Chandra Jayantha Silva’s friend (name unknown) and a person named Duminda Wijenayake also raped her.

The truth was discovered by the girl’s school teachers, who noticed that she lost her enthusiasm for studies, looked very depressed and walked in an abnormal pattern. When they inquired to her, the girl told the teachers that she has been constantly raped by six persons including her stepfather for about one year. The teachers immediately reported the incident to the Hingurakgoda Police Station and helped her to take legal action against these six perpetrators. (Case No. B 7420/2004)

When she was in protective custody at the Hingurakgoda Police Station, the girl identified the house of Chandra Jayantha Silva as the place where she had been raped. In

Polonnaruwa Court, the girl also testified to Ms. Kumari, who is attached to the Law Section of Sarvodaya Polonnaruwa, that Chandra Jayantha Silva gave her some clothes worth around Rs. 2,000 and chocolates to eat. She added that a few minutes after eating the chocolates, she lost her consciousness and was raped by him and his friend. The girl is staying with her mother, who returned from aboard after learning about the incident. 

Loval villagers made several protests in front of the police station demanding the arrest of the perpetrators. Pressured by the people, the Officer in Charge (OIC) of the Hingurakgoda Police Station, Inspector of Police (I.P.) Madanayake promised the villagers to arrest all the perpetrators. But so far, three among the six perpetrators have not been arrested. The villagers believe that the police did not arrest these three persons due to interference by some powerful persons. Also, the teachers reported that on the first day when the perpetrators were produced before the court, they were threatened by supporters of the perpetrators. 

The case hearing was held on 8 September 2004 at the Hingurakgoda Magistrates’ Court. Sarjon Subasinghe of the crime branch of the Hingurakgoda Police Headquarters, who was reached on that day, replied on the phone that there were necessary actions taken to arrest the other three perpetrators, but to date they are still at large.  

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