Popular nutrition expert faces sexual abuse allegations

ISTANBUL

A lawsuit has been filed against Nutrition and Diet Specialist Ender Saraç for allegedly sexually abusing his 13-year-old son.

The indictment prepared by the prosecutor's office stated that on Dec. 5, 2023, the child reported that he was sexually abused by his father to his teachers at school.

In the first statement of the child at the Child Monitoring Center (ÇİM) on Dec. 7, the victim claimed that his mother and father were separated, that his father inflicted psychological violence on him, his mother and his brother, and that his father had been touching him inappropriately since he was 6-7 years old.

However, on Dec. 13, 2023, the child made an additional statement saying that he did not want to file a complaint and that he said he was sexually abused to teach his father a lesson for mistreating them.

The mother Benan Saraç initially stated to the police that she did not witness sexual behavior towards her son but that she suspected the behavior. She added that she refrained from filing a complaint because she was afraid of the suspect. Later, when her son informed her that he had made false statements, she decided to withdraw the complaints.

In his defense, suspect Ender Saraç denied the accusations and stated they were put forward to obtain financial benefits and custody of the children.

He mentioned that cameras were present in every room of the house and that if the allegations were real, they would all be recorded on camera.

The indictment, however, concluded that the detailed statements given by the child at the first stage were sincere and that there was sufficient evidence to open a public case against the suspect for "Sexual Abuse of a Child." Ender Saraç was asked to be imprisoned for 12 to 22.5 years.

The case will be heard at the Istanbul High Criminal Court in the coming days.