News
Karainagar child abuse case put off for July 31
The Karainagar sexual abuse case involving Navy personnel was postponed to July 31 by Jaffna Juvenile Court Acting Magistrate M. Thirunavukarasam after a hearing held on Friday (25).
On the previous Friday (18), the Navy produced seven suspects for an identification parade before the Jaffna Juvenile Court Magistrate K. Jeewarani. The 11-year-old victim present could not positively identify any of the sailors produced. The suspects were subsequently released last Monday (21), with orders from the Magistrate for the Navy to produce two sailors who had been on duty when the incident occurred but had been on leave during the identification parade.
“Now the child had located the place where the incident occurred,” T. Viswarupan, Northern Province Probation and Child Care Services commissioner, told the Sunday Times. “Then police inquired who was on duty at that place on that day and submitted a report to the Magistrate. Those two suspects had been on leave, so the Magistrate ordered the Navy to produce them to court on Friday (25).”
When the case was taken up as scheduled last Friday by Acting Magistrate M. Thirunavukarasam, the Navy’s legal officers informed court that the Navy had already produced all sailors who had been on duty in the area during the incident for the identification parade and that no Navy personnel had been on leave. The acting magistrate then issued a new court date for July 31.
“We have already produced before the courts all sailors who were on duty,” Navy Spokesperson Commander Kosala Warnakulasooriya told the Sunday Times. We are giving our fullest assistance to the police investigation. The Navy is also conducting its own inquiry into the incident because this case is projecting a bad image about the Navy, he said.
“Our own inquiry found that the girl had not gone to school on June 11, and the principal of the school reported the absence to Karainagar Divisional Secretary on July 8,” he added. “The Divisional Secretary reported to the Police on July 15. We have our doubts as to why the principal reported to Divisional Secretary without going through normal procedures to report to the [area branch of the] Education Ministry. There are so many contradictory statements so we have our doubts as to why these people are doing this; may be for political benefit, or to make it an issue to remove the Navy from the area.”
The principal of the 11-year-old victim’s school told the Sunday Times that he informed the Divisional Secretary first because his office was located closer to the school. He said he noted the 11-year-old victim had been absent for 11 days starting from June 16. Initially, he had notified the parents of the child and asked them to meet him, but they never came, so he informed the Divisional Secretary, who sent an officer to the school to inquire.
The Divisional Secretariat officials were accompanied by Probation and Child Care officials, who have an office in the same building, Commissioner Viswarupan said. When the officials asked the 11-year-old why she was absent from school, she had told them that she was being sexually abused by (yet unidentified) sailors on her way to school. Later she revealed that her 9-year-old cousin, who accompanied her to school, was also sexually abused by the same persons, Commissioner Viswarupan said.
The victims are from poverty-ridden fisher families who live in small huts thatched with woven coconut leaves in an isolated, underdeveloped village in Kayts. Nearby is the Karainagar Naval Base. The town itself is populated by Navy personnel. On each road, there is a Navy sentry point. Every weekday morning, the girls had to walk some two and a half kilometres to school past one of the Navy sentry points.
“It was at one of these places close to Karainagar, on the way to school, that the victims were sexually assaulted,” Commissioner Viswarupan said. “The victims were taken to an area with bushes and molested.”
At first, the perpetrators had lured the 11-year-old victim with chocolates and biscuits and befriended her. When the sexual abuse began, they had threatened to hurt or kill her family if she told anyone.
No Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) report has been produced for the case yet. The case was initially taken up before the court with a medical officer’s statement confirming the girls were indeed sexually abused.
Commissioner Viswarupan said the girls are currently receiving medical care and therapy at a children’s home.
The case also drew attention because of several reports of death threats made to family members of the victims allegedly by Navy personnel in civilian clothes.
In a press statement last week the Ceylon Teachers’ Union raised concern regarding the safety of the victims and their families, claiming that the “investigation is being hindered by outside influences.”
Commander Warnakulasooriya denied all claims of victim intimidation and the Navy hindering official investigations.
“Nothing of that nature [referring to death threats and intimidation] has taken place,” he said. “How can we interfere with this unfair Police inquiry? The Navy also wants to find out whether the culprit is in fact in the Navy and take legal action, other than in a civilian court.”