A 36-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested, charged and remanded in custody for having sexually abused a 12-year-old boy in Honiara.
The defendant who is facing one count of buggery was remanded on Wednesday afternoon in the Honiara Magistrate’s Court.
He is due in court again on January 18.
The maximum penalty for this offence is 14 years imprisonment.
The defendant was arrested after videos and photos he allegedly took while sexually abusing the young victim went virial in their community.
Though his face was not shown in the video and photos, he was identified by a tattoo on his hand.
The incident occurred between 1 November 2022 and 30 November 2022.
The 12-year-old complainant/victim, on an unknown date in November 2022, left his house in the evening to a nearby house to watch a fundraising dance.
He watched the fundraising dance until late night.
The dance still continued when the complainant decided to have a rest on a hammock in the house and then fell asleep.
During the dance, the defendant was also in the area, selling betel nut and cigarette rolls.
While the complainant was sleeping, the defendant went over to him, took off his clothes and sexually abused him.
It was alleged that the defendant also had sex at that time with the complainant.
While the defendant was sexually abusing the complainant, he allegedly took photos and video clips of his acts.
After that, the defendant left the complainant.
The next morning, the complainant woke up and while he was walking back to his house, he felt pain in his bottom.
Police later arrested the defendant after the video clips and photos he took went viral and they identified him by the tattoo on his hand.
The defendant also admitted the offence during the course of his Recorded Interview with the Police.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
Solomon Star, Honiara
