Nine face prison for repeated rape of young girl in eastern Turkey
ELAZIĞ
Hürriyet Photo
Nine men are facing between 12 and 22 years in jail for the systematic rape of a girl in the eastern province of Elazığ over a period lasting seven years, according to a report in daily Taraf.S.A., a resident of a village in Elazığ’s Karakoçan district, said she was 8 years old when she was first subjected to a sexual assault, adding that she was raped by a total of 20 men, some of whom were minors, over a period of seven years.
The girl said her attackers included her older brother, M.A., adding that she was also beaten by her mother over the incident.
The entire village was aware of the continuing sexual assault, but failed to anything to halt the abuse, she said.
The girl said the abuse continued as every man came to her and said, “You were with him, so you’ll be with me.” One of the attackers, G.E., was 70 years old, she said.
S.A. said she was first sexually assaulted by K.E. at his house. Later, she said her older brother, M.A., demanded money from K.E. after news of the rape came to light.
The brother, however, allegedly exploited his sister sexually after telling her “you’ve been with F.B.”
M.A. also related the situation to F.A., who subsequently threatened S.A., forcing her into intercourse. After F.A. told M.A. about the incident, M.A. also allegedly raped his sister.
The girl’s mother, N.A., reportedly said “all the blame is on my daughter,” according to a witness, who added that the mother struck S.A. and her brother after discovering them engaged in sexual acts in a barn.
Gendarmerie forces began investigating the incidents in 2013 after hearing about the scope of the abuse when they were called to the village to mediate between it and another locality in a boundary dispute.
K.E., E.E., S.K., M.E., K.A., Ö.A., İ.K., S.A. and M.A. will face up to 22 years in jail for the alleged rape, while proceedings against the other 11 suspects will be handled separately because they were minors at the time of the abuse.
