Shaviyani Feydhoo girl convicted of fornication

The Juvenile Court has found a girl from Shaviyani Feydhoo guilty of premarital sex and sentenced her to one hundred lashes and house arrest for eight months.

An official of Juvenile Court said that the court found her guilty of fornication following her confession in court of having had consensual premarital sex when she was fifteen.

The official said that the court also ordered that her house arrest sentence be carried out at Kudakudhinge Hiya (children’s shelter).

He further said that sentences regarding lashes are normally implemented immediately after they are given by the court; however, they can be postponed if requested for due to health reasons.

The official said that the girl, who has been sexually abused and is currently undergoing medical treatment, will not be lashed until her treatments are over.

The Prosecutor General’s Office said that the issue of the girl having had consensual premarital sex with another man came to light during the investigation of a case regarding the murder of a baby born after she was sexually abused by her stepfather.

The official noted that the girl being abused by her father, and her consensual premarital sexual activities with another man are two different cases; and that she was sentenced today in relation to the latter.

The girl’s stepfather, Abdul Gafoor Gasim, 44, and her mother, Azeeza Ibrahim, 49, have been charged by the State with the crime of ‘intentional murder of a child’.

In addition, the stepfather has also been charged with possession of pornographic material and sexual abuse of a child.