Pensioner charged with child abuse

A PENSIONER from Larnaca could face 20 years imprisonment after being charged with five counts of child abuse.

The 62-year-old man yesterday appeared before a judge at Larnaca district court, which was staged behind closed doors to protect the identity of the alleged victims, and said that he understood the five charges against him.

He appear again at the Larnaca Criminal Court to answer to the five charges against him on March 1.

According to the indictment, the offences were committed between September 2006 and January 2007.

The plaintiffs in the case, and who could be called to testify, are four boys aged between nine and 16. Three out of the four boys are believed to be brothers.

Also set to testify in the trial should the pensioner plead guilty are the parents of the four boys.
A Larnaca judge yesterday ordered the man to remain in police custody at the Nicosia Central Prisons until his trial begins.

Child abuse charges in Cyprus can carry a prison sentence as much as 20 years.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.