Men arrested for rape of toddler in Kanduhulhudhoo deny charges

The men held for the rape of a 20-month toddler in G. A. Kanduhulhudhoo have both denied the charges against them.

The rape was reported to authorities in early January by the victim’s maternal family.

The suspects in the case are Ibrahim Didi, 62, from Rihiveli in Kandulhudhoo; and Hassan Moosa Didi, 82, from Annaarumaage in Kanduhulhudhoo.

They are the victim’s paternal grandfather and great-grandfather.

They were arrested on January 17, and charged with “carrying out an incestuous sexual act against a child” on February 13.

Both men have been remanded to jail pending the outcome of their trial. Their pretrial hearing was held on February 24.

The Prosecutor General’s Office confirmed this Sunday that both men had denied the charges against him at the pretrial hearing.

They also asked for time to hire legal representation.

No hearings have been held since then.

Hearings in the case are closed to the public as it involves a child victim.

While, the victim’s paternal grandfather and great-grandfather are on trial for subjecting her to repeated sexual assault over a prolonged period of time, the victim’s parents were pressed with child endangerment charges on February 27.

They were charged with “failure to report sexual offenses against a child despite being aware of the said offenses” and “failure to prevent the offenses despite being aware of its wrongness”.

The case had sparked outrage and protests across the Maldives demanding the government for more effective action against sexual offenses against children. It also led to the resignation of former Gender Minister Shidhatha Shareef.

The protests were halted with the emergence of coronavirus cases in Maldives.