He sexually assaulted his younger sister when he was invited to her birthday party.

Many heartbreaking incidents

Around 9 PM on a night in July 2020, Luong Van Cong (residing in Nam Nhoong commune, Que Phong district) rode his motorbike to the house of LTN, born in 2005, residing in Chau Thon commune, to attend a girl's birthday party. After the party, Luong Van Cong rode his motorbike out to socialize. Around 1 AM that same night, Cong returned home and found LTN (15 years old), the younger sister of the birthday girl, sleeping on the floor. Cong then propositioned her for sexual intercourse. The incident was later discovered by LTN's mother.

On August 1, 2020, representatives of LTN's family filed a report with the Criminal Investigation Agency of Que Phong District Police regarding the actions of Luong Van Cong. On the same day, the Criminal Investigation Agency of Que Phong District Police proceeded to detain Luong Van Cong under emergency circumstances for investigation and clarification. Subsequently, the People's Procuracy of Que Phong District decided to prosecute Luong Van Cong before the People's Court of Que Phong District for the crime of "Sexual intercourse with a person aged 13 to under 16 years old," as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 145 of the Penal Code.

Defendant Luong Van Dau. Photo courtesy of Nhu Binh.

Previously, on June 22nd, the Nghe An Provincial People's Court held a first-instance trial for defendant Luong Van Dau (born in 1993), residing in Dong Van commune, Que Phong district, on the charge of "Rape of a person under 16 years old". The incident occurred when Luong Van Dau invited LTL (born in 2013), a resident of the same village, to check animal traps in the forest. Upon reaching a secluded forest area, the young man sexually assaulted the child. To conceal his crime, Dau gave LTL 10,000 VND and instructed the victim not to tell anyone. However, Dau's actions were later exposed, and he received a 20-year prison sentence and was ordered to pay 30 million VND in compensation.

Not only in Que Phong, but in June 2020, a child abuse case also occurred in Yen Thanh district, shocking public opinion in a rural area. The perpetrator was Mr. Nguyen Phi Hung (born in 1950, residing in Van Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district). In his confession, Mr. Hung admitted that on the afternoon of June 9th, while visiting a neighbor's house, he saw a 9-year-old girl studying alone and conceived the intention to sexually abuse her. Afterwards, Hung told the victim not to tell anyone and left. However, that evening, fearing his actions would be exposed, Mr. Hung submitted a confession. Mr. Hung also confessed to having abused the girl three times. Meanwhile, the victim reported that Mr. Hung had lured her eight times. In addition to the above incident, Mr. Hung also admitted to having abused another 8-year-old girl living in the same neighborhood.

Nghe An province has 838,050 children under 16 years old; of which 103,443 are minors aged 16-18. In 2019, authorities detected and handled 46 cases involving 55 individuals related to violence and abuse against children. This number increased to 38 cases and 42 individuals in 2020.

Strict penalties and extensive public awareness campaigns.

In the first 10 months of 2020, the Nghe An Provincial Police discovered, prosecuted, and investigated 38 cases involving 42 defendants for crimes against children; including 32 cases involving 33 individuals sexually abusing children; 1 case involving 2 individuals involved in child trafficking; and 5 cases involving 7 individuals committing murder or intentionally inflicting injury on children. Simultaneously, they successfully rescued 9 children who had been lured away from home and forced to work as karaoke hostesses in Bac Giang and Thanh Hoa provinces, among others, on 3 separate occasions.

The People's Court of Nghe An province has also tried cases involving violations of children's rights (where the victims were children). Specifically, the People's Courts at both levels have received 31 cases/33 defendants where the victims were children, and have resolved all 31 cases/33 defendants. Of these, 14 cases/16 defendants were tried for the crime of rape of persons under 16 years of age;CopulateRegarding offenses involving persons under 16 years of age, 7 cases/7 defendants have been tried; regarding sexual abuse of persons under 16 years of age, 8 cases/8 defendants have been tried.

In 2020, the penalties applied by the Provincial People's Court to defendants convicted of child rape and child abuse included: suspended sentence: 1 defendant; imprisonment of 3 years or less: 15 defendants; imprisonment from 3 to 7 years: 12 defendants; imprisonment from over 7 years to 15 years: 3 defendants; imprisonment from over 15 years to 20 years: 2 defendants.

Besides detecting and strictly handling violators, public awareness campaigns are also emphasized. In 2020, the Department of Culture and Sports developed 10 models for preventing and combating domestic violence, integrating the promotion of moral education and lifestyle within families. The Provincial Women's Union organized training courses to improve public awareness and dissemination skills.Children's LawProviding information to 40 provincial-level speakers, over 400 district-level speakers, and nearly 3,000 commune-level communicators and collaborators in hamlets, villages, and communities; directing all levels of associations to organize 1,260 communication sessions on the "Children's Law" and "Children's Rights". In addition, organizing 42 forums on preventing and assisting children who have been subjected to violence and sexual abuse, and forums for children; organizing 560 sessions on life skills education, self-protection skills, and prevention of abuse and injuries.

The message that children should not remain silent has been frequently mentioned in recent media campaigns on preventing and combating child sexual abuse. (Photo courtesy of My Ha.)

The Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs is the "leading" unit in coordinating efforts between different levels and sectors regarding the implementation of children's rights and child protection. Ms. Le Thi Nguyet - Head of the Children's Department -Gender equalityAccording to the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, recognizing the importance of public awareness campaigns, in 2020, various departments, agencies, and localities implemented numerous measures and methods to raise awareness about preventing child abuse, protecting children, and contributing to the prevention of crimes against children.

In addition to coordinating with departments, agencies, and localities, the Department has directed and guided the mobilization of resources to support and assist children in special circumstances, totaling nearly 14 billion VND. Thanks to this, in 2020, assistance was provided to 7,500 children in special circumstances and disadvantaged children in the province. “In the coming time, the Department will continue to coordinate with all levels and sectors to promote the effective implementation of Resolution No. 121/2020/QH14 dated June 19, 2020, of the National Assembly on continuing to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of implementing policies and laws on preventing and combating child abuse; and Directive No. 23/CT-TTg dated May 26, 2020, of the Prime Minister on strengthening measures to ensure the realization of children's rights and protection of children,” Ms. Nguyet stated.