13-year-old raped by Facebook friend

SUBANG JAYA—A 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a man she had met on Facebook only about a week earlier after allowing him to fetch her home from school.

Police said the girl reportedly met her rapist on Jan 15 after he added her as a “friend” on Facebook. The pair struck up a friendship and met four times within a week.

“He never touched her then. However, on Jan 23, the man made plans to pick up the girl from her school in USJ 8. He met her outside the compound at about 12.45pm under the pretence of driving her home,” said Subang Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Yahaya Ramli here yesterday.

However, the man drove the girl to a secluded area in USJ 4, where he locked the doors of his Myvi before forcing himself on her.

The man, who is in his 20s, later dropped the girl back at her school before driving off.

“He is still at large. The girl’s mother questioned her about a week later after noticing something amiss about her daughter’s behaviour.

“The child then confessed to having been sexually assaulted by a Facebook friend and she was brought to a clinic,” said ACP Yahaya, adding that the mother lodged a police report on Jan 28.

The case is being investigated under Section 376 of the Penal Code for rape. According to the Bukit Aman Sexual and Child Investigation Division, there were 12,054 rape cases between 2010 and mid-2014. Of that number, 80% of the victims knew their rapists.

ACP Yahaya urged parents to take interest in their children’s online acti­vity, specifically who they befriended and spoke to on social media.

“It’s a parent’s responsibility to monitor their children so that they will not fall prey to sex predators online. Young children are still naive and at high risk of being taken advantage of,” he said.