68-year-old man on trial for sexually assaulting 8th-grade girl.

Despite admitting to having sexual relations with a teenage girl on multiple occasions, the defendant said he was "proud to have a son with her...".

On the morning of September 12th, the Nghe An Provincial People's Court tried defendant Uong Nhat Duoc (68 years old, residing in Vinh City) on two charges: child rape and sexual intercourse with a minor. Dressed in gray clothes, with his gray hair cut short, Mr. Duoc occasionally glanced back at the victim, a 14-year-old girl with whom he had a child, sitting sadly next to her mother.

Defendant Uong Nhat Duoc. Photo: Hai Binh.

According to the indictment, Mr. Được knew that Ms. Thủy's family brewed rượu (rice wine), so he often went to buy it, and they became close. On the afternoon of April 19, 2014, he went to buy rượu, but only Tuyết (12 years old, Ms. Thủy's daughter) was home. Holding the bottle of rượu the girl gave him, Mr. Được didn't go home but sat and drank it there, while Tuyết continued studying in her room. After five consecutive glasses, Mr. Được molested the child.

Before leaving, the "pervert" gave Tuyet 100,000 dong, saying it was to pay for the bottle of wine and keeping the change, telling her, "Don't tell anyone. If this gets out, both of us will get a bad reputation."

After their first sexual encounter, Mr. Duoc gave the girl a phone, instructing her to "call me when your mother is away so I can come over." According to the allegations, from April 2014 to October 2015, Mr. Duoc had sexual relations with Tuyet multiple times.

In December 2015, noticing unusual behavior in her daughter, Ms. Thuy took her for a check-up and was shocked to learn that her daughter was 26 weeks pregnant. DNA testing confirmed the fetus was Mr. Duoc's child. Currently, the baby boy is 6 months old and healthy.

Appearing before the court, Mr. Được admitted to the charges brought by the Prosecutor's Office, stating that he loved Tuyết even before committing the crime and had no intention of evading responsibility for impregnating her.

While admitting that alcohol led him to lose himself, the 68-year-old defendant said, "I am proud that because of that mistake, we now have a son together."

Given permission by the court to turn around and say a few words to the victim, the defendant stated: "I would like to apologize to the victim's family and relatives; please forgive my actions. I am now nearly 70 years old, and my health is failing. If I complete my sentence soon, I want to return home and help take care of my children."

The victim, Tuyet, sat motionless, watching the trial. Photo: Hai Binh.

The defendant stated that his income was solely based on his disability pension of just over one million dong, and therefore requested a monthly allowance of 200,000 dong to support his child; he could not afford more than that.

In the closing arguments, the prosecutor's representative proposed a sentence of 8 years imprisonment for the crime of child rape and 2 years imprisonment for the crime of sexual intercourse with a minor.

The judges adjourned for deliberation and will announce the verdict on September 14th.

According to VNE