Underage rape suspects remanded in custody

By Elias Hazou

TWO UNDERAGE rape suspects were yesterday remanded in custody for six days by a Limassol district court.

On Wednesday, the two boys, both 15, allegedly entered an apartment bloc in the Kapsalos area and raped a Rumanian artiste after hitting and restraining her. The victim later told police one of the assailants held her down while the other raped her.

The perpetrators were caught in the act by another artiste who walked into the room 15 minutes later. Police said that yesterday the second boy, accused of raping the woman, also admitted to the act. He had denied the charges the day before, even though his accomplice had admitted to the crime.

Appearing before court yesterday, the two suspects told how earlier they had visited another apartment bloc inhabited by artistes, but their plans had been foiled. They then decided to try their luck elsewhere, the court heard.

Now authorities must determine how to deal with the two underage boys. Special legislation for minors ranges from reprimands for first-time petty offenders to imprisonment for more serious crimes. If a juvenile delinquent is considered as incorrigible, the case is forwarded to the Attorney- general’s office, who may recommend prosecution or that a child be placed under the supervision of a custodian.

Limassol police deputy chief Andreas Kariolemos told the Cyprus Mailthat a rising trend in juvenile delinquency had been recorded over the past couple of years. The majority of offences are burglaries, thefts and damage to property; rape is low on the list of crimes committed by minors.

Under Cyprus law, rape is punishable by life imprisonment, but such sentences are rarely, if ever, handed out.

In a separate case, a 46-year-old taxi driver from Limassol was on Thursday remanded in custody for three days on suspicion of raping a 22-year-old Ukrainian woman.

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.