10 December 2012

Incestuous pedophile father sentenced to 9.5 yrs jail

Image of young girl with mouth shrouded
ETLJB  10 December 2012 - On 19 October 2012 the Baucau District Court convicted a man of the crime of the sexual abuse of a minor and sentenced him to the penalty of 9 years and 6 months in jail. The minor against whom the sex crime had been committed was the perpetrator's own child.


According to a report in The Dili Weekly on 6 December 2012, the Public Prosecutor accused the offender under article 177 Penal Code (sexual abuse against a minor) which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The Director of East Timor's leading law and justice civil society organisation, the Judicial System Monitoring Program, is reported by TheDili Weekly as saying that  “JSMP encourages the court to apply penalties according to the gravity of the crime. Incest is a crime that greatly offends social, moral and religious values and can also cause physical psychological and emotional damage which are extremely grave for the victim.”

The JSMP Director, Casimiro dos Santos, added that "This is why it needs a penalty that is effective and decisive for the offender and generally this can send a message to the community in order to prevent incest crimes in the future.”

The Judge in the case, Mrs. Angela Faria Belo, represented the collective court in the trial and read the sentence to the offender. The Public Prosecutor was represented by Pascasio de Rosa Alves and the offender was accompanied by his lawyer, Muzaria Amaral.

A Member of Parliament, Josefa Alvares Soares, is reported by The Dili Weekly as saying after the trial that it was a good decision and it is appropriate for the crime that the offender had committed.

“This was a wrong thing to do, and the decision reached by the judge, perfectly matched this case that the offender committed,” said Mrs Soares.

Mrs. Soares said the entire country needs to know about the incest because it is wrong and needs to be eradicated.

“The Government has to have a program as how to conduct training for our communities in order to transfer knowledge about incest. For example, what are the impacts of this kind of behavior; and with this kind of action, what will happen to the perpetrators so that they can have a conscience in order for them to never commit this kind of crime,” said Mrs Soares.

Related reports
Incest in East Timor - Justice Group says many parents in state of moral degradation 
The Social Problem of Incest in Timor-Leste Latest Report records 49 minors victims of incest
Incest in East Timor - Justice Group says many parents in state of moral degradation
Oecusse District Court - Incest Against Minors Hearing
JSMP distributes information on incest to SIC and local authorities 
Incest in East Timor
What happens when abortion is illegal – The Case of East Timor 
JSMP urges Parliament to formulate specific legislation on incest  


The Dili Weekly. Edited by Warren L. Wright Image: Warren L. Wright Taken in Dili, 2006

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