A 54-YEAR-old was yesterday remanded in custody on suspicion of sexually abusing a girl of 13.
The man, from Kato Pyrgos in Tylliria, is suspected of taking sexual advantage of a minor, kidnapping a woman under the age of 16 and indecent assault of an underage girl.
Police arrested the man late on Sunday after family members followed him with their cars as he was driving with the young girl. They then forced him out of the car and beat him severely. The suspect appeared in court with heavy bruising all over his face.
After beating the suspect, the men informed police that he had been systematically taking sexual advantage of the 13-year-old girl. He was arrested after being taken to hospital.
In a hearing held behind closed doors, Constable Antonis Nicolaou of Morphou CID told the court that he believed the systematic abuse had been occurring from 2004 all the way until Saturday.
“On the night in question at around 10.30pm, the suspect was driving his car in the village of Kato Pyrgos with the 13-year-old girl in the co-driver’s seat,” Nicolaou’s written statement said. “Following the suspect were two men who at one point cut off the vehicle being driven by the suspect. When they saw that the young girl in the passenger seat was their little cousin, they called the girl’s father, who came to where they were. All men then attacked the suspect causing injuries to his head and body. The suspect was then taken to Pyrgos Police Station and then to Paphos General Hospital.”
According to Nicolaou, the suspect admitted to officers at the local police station that for the last six months he had been having an intimate relationship with the 13-year-old girl, but at no time had sexual intercourse with her; he had told officers that he and the girl kissed and fondled each other and gave each other oral sex, police told the court.
One of the men who attacked the suspect told officers that he had seen the suspect pick up his little cousin outside a coffee shop and had decided to follow them.
The girl also gave a statement to police confirming that since 2004 she had been in an intimate relationship with the suspect.
“She told us that she had phoned the suspect towards the end of 2004 and told him that she wanted to have a relationship with him. According to her, he initially refused and hung up the phone on her, but she then persisted and he eventually caved in to her demands. They would then meet in various places in the village and be intimate with each other,” the police statement said.
She told police that her parents did not know about her secret relationship and that she was a willing participant in the relationship.
“We request a remand of eight days for the suspect should he destroy any evidence whilst we will also be taking around 25 more statements for the investigation. Furthermore we are awaiting test results from state pathologist Sophocles Sophocleous, who will determine whether or not the young girl had sexual intercourse with the suspect.”
Judge Nicos Yiapanas approved the prosecution’s request for the eight-day remand.
The suspect’s lawyer Marios Karaiskos denies the suspect confessed anything to the police.
“My client never made a statement, either in writing or speaking, and never told them that he was in a relationship with the young girl.”
