Epress.am News from Armenia
Local daily Hraparak reported today that a 40-year-old man sexually assaulted a 4-year-old in Ashtarak 20 days ago.
“The majority of those in Ashtarak know this man. The girl’s mother is… a sex worker, and one of her regular customers ‘had his eye’ on the small child, with whom he carried out lewd acts. The girl described to the police in detail what ‘mom’s mr. friend’ did to her, but the police did not launch criminal proceedings. As a reason, they state that a medical examination didn’t show that her hymen was torn, but lewd acts are not only [considered] to be rape — they have many other manifestations. Psychologists have also helped in [arriving at] this conclusion.
“‘She saw what her mother was doing, since the sexual acts often took place at home, and it’s not ruled out that the young child saw that and reproduced it. A vivid imagination is typical of children this age,’ they [the police] say. The child’s mother, naturally, remains silent, describes nothing. But this case has gone beyond police management: starting to get involved in this are NGOs and Aragatsotn regional council’s women, children and families division, which is aware of the mother’s behavior [referring to her employment] and is preparing, in accordance with the law, to motion to the courts to deprive or restrict the woman of her parental rights. By the way, the girl recognized by face the man who abused her. NGO representatives say that though RA Criminal Code Article 142 doesn’t clearly note which are ‘lecherous acts with a person obviously under 16,’ lawyers theoretically know that kissing, loving and touching children belong in these acts and, naturally, in this case, a medical examination couldn’t make such a conclusion,” reports Hraparak.