Police arrests suspect for sexual assault against 18-year-old

Maldives Police Service has received report of a sexual assault against a local female in Gaafu Dhaalu atoll Gadhdhoo on Sunday evening.

Police confirmed the victim is aged 18, while the alleged perpetrator, a local male aged 28 years was arrested on the same evening.

While the authority did not provide additional details in the case, police said they were investigating the incident.

This is the latest sexual assault case reported to police, while a similar assault against a 13-year-old minor was reported tow backs. Authorities arrested a 27-year-old man in the case.

Police received a total of 2,169 sexual assault cases in the past six years, according to the Human Rights and Gender Committee of the parliament.

Local authorities received 234 such reports in 2023 alone according to the committee.