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Politicos turn child rapists: NE Deputy Mayor on the run
Nuwara Eliya Deputy Mayor Tissa Seneviratne is on the run after Court issued an arrest warrant against him. Police have still not been able to track him down. Nuwara Eliya Magistrate Sampath Hewawasam issued an open warrant on August 19 following a request by the Children and Women Bureau after a woman had complained that her son had been a sex victim of the ruling party member.
The suspect had sexually abused about five boys in the past two years, Court was told. According to Children and Women Bureau Senior Superintendent of Police Jayantha Wickremasinghe, special police teams have been deployed to apprehend the suspect Deputy Mayor who is absconding.
Children’s and Women’s Affairs Minister Tissa Karaliyedda told the Sunday Times that, for influential suspects like politicians, only stringent laws and discipline within the party can control such menace. The Minister said loopholes exist in the legal system for action against those committing sexual abuse against children.
“Though capital punishment is already proposed, death sentence or lifelong imprisonment should be implemented without allowing for pardons or reduced sentences. We have requested the Attorney General’s Department for amendments six months ago, and are awaiting their response,” he said.
He said that political parties should prevent politicians guilty of crimes against children contesting elections, as they can use their power to abuse children. “It is also the public’s duty not to vote for candidates guilty of child abuse, as it is a gross violation of children’s rights,” the Minister said.
Last year, Pujapitiya Pradeshiya Sabha (PS) UPFA member Nalinda Rajanayake and another were arrested for abducting and raping an underage girl from Pujapitiya. Similarly, another UPFA member from the Maharagama Urban Council (UC) was arrested for raping a 12-year-old girl.
Tangalle UC member Anjana Liyanage and several others were arrested over the continuous rape of a young girl for six days in a hotel.
Akuressa PS Chairman Saruwa Liyanage Sunil was arrested for raping an underage girl. The suspect was later released on Rs 1 million personal bail.
According to statistics tabled in Parliament, last year, about 3,500 cases of sex crimes against children have been reported. Among them 1,759 were for rape, 547 children were sexually abused and 1,194 molested. Chief Government Whip Minister Dinesh Gunewardena told Parliament this year that the highest number of child rape cases was reported from Anuradhapura and Kurunegala districts, followed by Colombo, Gampaha and Ratnapura districts.
Ireshika Sathsarani (8), Krishna Kumar Dushanthini (7) and M. Haathim (5) are three little children who lost their lives this year and last, to a sex predator, who was a family friend, a male relative and a step father respectively. Last week a horrific case was reported from Diyatalawa, when an eight-year-old girl was raped and strangled by a family friend who had taken her to see the perahera. Her innocent, lifeless body was found inside a hut near a paddy field.
The 31-year-old suspect who was evading arrest, was apprehended by the police on Wednesday (21). “Incest and rape by close family friends occur when parents neglect the safety of their child. Parents should play a more important role in protecting their child,” said National Child Protection Authority Chairman Anoma Dissanayake.
She said that in some cases, parents are reluctant to complain, especially in instances of incest. “Our hotline 1929 is dedicated to receive complains of all kinds of crimes against children, while protecting the privacy of the victim,” she said.
International Child Safeguarding Director for Save the Children, Menaca Calyaratne said State has a lot of mechanisms to intervene once the crime is committed, but there is little being done to prevent sex criminals from committing such crimes.
“Sri Lanka does not have a system to prevent alleged perpetrators from entering politics. Political parties still do not have a policy. Country’s recruitment of teachers, principals and others who work with children do not undergo background checks on their suitability to work with children,” she said.
She said that children’s protection is a matter of national security, and that social tolerance to it should be discouraged.
Ms. Calyaratne said that boys are as vulnerable as girls. “There is a myth that because boys do not get pregnant, there is no harm. But the emotional scars may not heal. This can also lead to abused children becoming abusers themselves,” she added.
According to United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), sexual violence against children can take the form of harassment, touching, incest, rape or exploitation in prostitution or pornography. Latest global estimates reveal 150 million girls and 73 million boys under the age of 18 had experienced forced sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual violence involving physical contact.
UNICEF states, it shows that sexual violence can have serious short and long-term increased risk for illness, psychological distress, unwanted pregnancy, stigma, discrimination and difficulties at school.
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