Alleged child rapist faces 2 new charges
AN ALLEGED serial child rapist was handed fresh charges by an investigating judge at the Battambang Provincial Court late last week, according to anti-human trafficking officials.
The man, San Nimol, 34, was arrested in June, four days after a 10-year-old girl came forward with allegations of rape.
Investigators suspected Nimol may have been a serial abuser, and joined forces with the NGO Child Protection Unit (CPU).
A second victim was swiftly identified.
“After [allegedly] raping the first two, he took off, but we got him arrested,” said CPU Executive Director James McCabe.
“We continued investigations and identified two more victims.”
The four victims were all girls between 10 and 14 years old and were known to the suspect.
Investigating Judge Roth Sitha on Friday added two additional counts of aggravated rape to Nimol’s charges, bringing the total to four, according to Born Vannara, head of the Battambang Provincial Police’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit.
“The suspect is in detention in Battambang prison,” Vannara said.
The crime of raping a child carries a prison term of between seven and 15 years under the Penal Code.
The CPU took to Facebook to thank investigators for their hard work in apprehending the suspect and identifying further victims.
“He will not be able to attack another child again,” the organisation wrote.
The investigation is ongoing, police said.