Foster father arrested for raping 15-year-old in latest child abuse case

SİVAS

The family was receiving around 2,000 Turkish Liras per month from the Family and Social Policies Ministry for the care of three adopted children. DAH Photo

A foster father has been arrested in the Central Anatolian province of Sivas for raping a 15-year-old girl, whom he had adopted with his wife several years before, in a new case of horrific child abuse that comes after the government recently moved to raise the sentences for such crimes.

The scandal broke out after the man, identified only as H.S., was denounced by both the victim and her biological parents. H.S.’s wife has claimed that she only recently learned about the continual abuse.

According to testimonies, H.S. and his wife adopted the girl, identified only as C.C., in 2009 when she was eight-years-old. The abuse started in 2011, when H.S. left C.C. pregnant when she was only 11. The baby was aborted by a doctor after eight weeks, but the abuse did not stop, with C.C. saying in her testimony that she had been repeatedly raped until H.S. was arrested.

H.S. has rejected the accusations, while an investigation has been launched to take back from the family two other adopted children, as well as their seven-year-old biological child.

The family adopted the two other children in 2004 and 2010 and was receiving around 2,000 Turkish Liras per month from the Family and Social Policies Ministry for their care.

The victim, C.C., has been returned to her biological parents in Malatya province.

Meanwhile, police have launched another investigation into the doctor who performed the abortion on C.C. The doctor said the victim refused to say who impregnated her, while H.S. claimed that a boy from her school was responsible.

A recently passed bill on crimes foresees doubling sentences for sexual offenders, particularly child abusers. However, the arrangement has been criticized by women’s associations, which stress that it contains legal loopholes that could lead to the potential reduction of sentences and the criminalization of teenagers between the ages of 15 and 18 engaging in consensual sexual intercourse.