A prosecutor in the Mediterranean province of Antalya has demanded the acquittal of a suspect in a sexual abuse case involving a 9-year-old girl, arguing that the girl did not “display any reaction” during and after the abuse, according to a report by the Hürriyet Daily News.
The girl claimed that her 25-year-old male cousin sexually abused her twice, first at home and then in a car once again. She also said the man threatened to kill her if she spoke about it, although she told her father what had happened.
The suspect denied the charges.
At a court hearing on Oct. 11, the girl’s lawyer demanded the suspect’s arrest, but the prosecutor objected. The prosecutor argued that the alleged incident occurred in an environment where family members were present and thus her account was rather “abstract.”
The prosecutor also told the court that she apparently did not display any reaction to the alleged abuse during and after the incidents, thus demanding the acquittal of the suspect.
Twenty-three women were killed by men across Turkey in September, according to a report by online news outlet Bianet, which compiled data from local and national newspapers, news sites and news agencies.
The report also showed that men raped four women; forced 24 women into sex work; harassed 22 women; sexually abused 19 girls; and inflicted violence on 36 women across Turkey in September.
Men killed at least 183 women and 10 children in Turkey, raped 50 women, harassed 162 women, forced 375 women into sex work, sexually abused 279 girls and injured 316 women to date in 2018.
