Police Arrest Teenager Responsibility To Rape Junior High School Student In Buton, Victim Was Missing For 3 Days

Police officers arrested the perpetrators of forced minors in Central Buton, Southeast Sulawesi, Tuesday (4/2/2025). (ANTARA/Documentation of the Buteng Police)

The police arrested a teenager with the initials MR (19) who was suspected of assaulting or raping a minor with the initials W (15) in Gu District, Central Buton Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province (Sultra).

Head of Public Relations Section (Kasi) Iptu Thamrin said the arrest of MR was carried out by police officers, Tuesday, February 4, at around 14.00 WITA.

"MR was successfully secured without a fight in Gu Subdistrict for allegedly committing a criminal act against a 15-year-old teenager who is still in junior high school (SMP)," Thamrin said when contacted in Kendari, Wednesday, February 5, as quoted by Antara.

He said the MR lecherous incident was revealed when the victim's mother who was in West Papua Province received information from her grandmother in the village if the victim had left the house.

"The victim's parents then asked his family for help in finding the whereabouts of victim W," he said

Thamrin revealed that after three days of searching, the victim's parents then received information from his family that W had returned home. At that time, the victim's parents immediately departed from Monokowari City to Central Buton Regency, to check on their child.

"When they arrived, the victim's parents then asked directly and were very surprised to receive his son's confession that he had been forced by a man with the initials MR at his house in Lakudo District," said Thamrin.

Not accepting this, the victim's parents then reported the incident at the Buteng Police. Armed with the report, the Resmob Team immediately moved to find the whereabouts of MR.

"MR was then successfully secured without a fight by the Resmob Team at the house of Bhabinkamtibmas personnel in Boneoge Village when the alleged perpetrator decided to surrender to the police officers," he explained.

Thamrin added that at that time the perpetrators were immediately taken to the Central Buton Police Headquarters for further investigation.

For the actions of the perpetrators charged with Article 82 Paragraph (1) Juncto Article 76E of Law Number 17 of 2016 concerning the Determination of Perpu Number 1 of 2016 the second amendment to Law Number 23 of 2002 concerning Child Protection with a Criminal Threat of 15 Years in Prison.