Urgent report on the case of a 78-year-old "blue beard" who molested many girls

78-year-old man who molested many girls unexpectedly has his sentence reduced

According to the People's Court, the defendant Thuy is old and weak, is a cadre and party member, and has made many contributions to the locality, so the decision was made to reduce the defendant's sentence from 3 years in prison to 18 months of suspended imprisonment.

The People's Procuracy of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province disagreed.

On the afternoon of May 13, the Supreme People's Procuracy announced that immediately after the People's Court of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province sentenced defendant Nguyen Khac Thuy (born in 1940, residing in Vung Tau city) to 18 months in prison but suspended the sentence, the People's Procuracy of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province had an urgent report on this case that has outraged public opinion.

According to the panel of judges, through the family's testimony, at that time, HA was aware that the other person's behavior was an assault, so he could have reacted to stop or call for help, not allowing Mr. Thuy to carry out the above behavior. Therefore, the panel of judges found that there was not enough solid basis to convict the defendant Thuy of having committed obscene acts with HA. Therefore, the panel of judges partially accepted the appeal of the defendant Thuy, determining that the defendant did not commit obscene acts with HA. The panel of judges concluded that the defendant Thuy only committed obscene acts with TD as stated in the first instance judgment.

Regarding mitigating circumstances, according to the panel, the defendant is an elderly person who committed the crime, is a party member and has made many contributions to the banking industry, so it is necessary to apply the circumstances to partially reduce the sentence for the defendant. In addition, considering that the defendant has a clear place of residence and is suffering from many illnesses, the panel of judges should apply a suspended sentence for the defendant.

Immediately after the Provincial People's Court announced an 18-month suspended prison sentence, the leaders of the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial People's Procuracy signed an urgent report to the Professional Department of the High-Level People's Procuracy in Ho Chi Minh City and the Professional Department of the Supreme People's Procuracy.

The People's Procuracy of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province affirmed that the indictment of the People's Procuracy of Vung Tau city and the first instance verdict had correctly convicted the person, the correct crime, and there was no injustice. At the same time, when sentencing, the first instance court considered aggravating and mitigating circumstances before sentencing the defendant Thuy to 3 years in prison.

The report of the People's Procuracy of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province maintains the prosecution opinion of the first instance court (sentencing to 3 years in prison) and requests a final review of this case.

Ho Chi Minh City Association for Protection of Children's Rights speaks out

In another development, the Ho Chi Minh City Association for the Protection of Children's Rights has also intervened, sending a document to the High People's Procuracy in Ho Chi Minh City requesting a review of the case. According to lawyer Tran Thi Ngoc Nu - Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Association for the Protection of Children's Rights, the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial People's Court's decision to suspend the defendant Thuy's sentence shows a lack of strictness and is not commensurate with the nature and behavior of Mr. Thuy because he committed "heinous" crimes against many children, which is a case of multiple crimes.

According to lawyer Nu, this is a sentence that has no deterrent effect, because it has violated Article 6, Clause 3 of the Law on Children, causing public outrage. The Court's application of mitigating circumstances to a party member or an elderly person is unacceptable. Because a party member must set an example. The Court should have applied aggravating circumstances because the crime was committed against a child, committed multiple crimes against many people. In addition, if convicted of child molestation, it is impossible to impose a suspended sentence, no matter how frail the person's health is.

Speaking to reporters, Lawyer Le Ngoc Luan (Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association) - who had pursued the case until it was prosecuted - said that the appeal verdict against defendant Nguyen Khac Thuy was too light, not strong enough to enforce justice, punish the defendant and deter society.

“Moreover, the defendant committed obscene acts with a child, so the 18-month suspended sentence is not strict enough. Applying the mitigating circumstances of "old age, illness, and contributions" is not appropriate. According to regulations, within 1 year, the people involved and any person who sees signs of the verdict being illegal still have the right to write a petition to the competent authority to request a review of the verdict. If the competent authority - in this case, the Supreme People's Court's panel of judges reviews this verdict and finds the sentence too light, they can petition and request a retrial from the beginning,” Lawyer Luan added.

Lawyer Luan commented that this case is also a warning bell about child abuse so that parents can protect their children. Legislators need to issue more effective regulations to prevent and severely punish criminals. Protection agencies and associations need to take action against the problem of child sexual abuse.