Court acquits man accused of molesting his stepdaughter

A MAN suspected of having molested and attempting to rape his 12-year-old stepdaughter was yesterday acquitted by a Nicosia Court.

On July 24, Judge Charalambos Charalambous had remanded the 53-year-old suspect for five days in light of the preliminary police investigations and the severity of the charges.

According to the girl, the suspect had been systematically touching and molesting her at home.
She added that her stepfather was even forcing her to watch pornographic films with him.

Last Sunday, the young girl had told her uncle that her stepfather had recently tried to rape her but that she had managed to escape.

The same evening, the uncle informed officers at Nicosia CID what his niece had told him and the suspect was immediately arrested and brought in for questioning.

However, a court ruling yesterday overruled the prosecution’s attempt to charge the man after it was deemed by the court that the witness statements against him, from the plaintiff, did not have any grounds.

The court also took into account the fact that the young girl had been receiving psychiatric treatment during the alleged incidents and that she is still under psychiatric observation.

“The court has serious doubts over the authenticity of the statement made against the defendant”, read a court announcement.

“For those reasons, the court finds the defendant innocent and is released of the charged pending against him.”
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