15-Year-Old Teenager Forced To Become LC Until Pregnant, DPR Asks Officials To Dismantle The Network

Illustration of sexual violence in children (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission III of the DPR RI, Gilang Dhielafararez asked the police to take firm action against perpetrators of sexual exploitation and criminal acts of trafficking in persons (TPPO) against children aged 15, who were forced to work as karaoke guides in the West Jakarta area until they became five months pregnant. Gilang believes that there are not only 10 perpetrators.

"This case must not stop at the arrest of the perpetrators of the field alone. Law enforcement officers are required to dismantle the entire network involved, investigate who is behind it, the party who benefits, and take firm action if there are individuals who protect this heinous practice," Gilang told reporters, Thursday, August 21.

Gilang encouraged the perpetrators to be dealt with with with the maximum sentence in accordance with Law Number 21 of 2007 concerning the Eradication of TIP and the Child Protection Law. The judiciary, he said, must also prioritize child TIP cases as a form of state alignment with victims.

"There should be no compromise in cases that rob the future of the nation's children," he said.

In addition to taking action, Gilang also encouraged strengthening cross-agency coordination. Starting from the Police, the Prosecutor's Office, the Court, to the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection, to ensure that victims get psychological assistance, health, and social recovery as a whole.

This member of the House of Representatives Law Enforcement Commission added that trade in people often hides behind the guise of nightclubs. Therefore, according to Gilang, licensing supervision, routine operations, and the closure of business premises that are proven to employ minors must be carried out indiscriminately.

"The state must really be present to protect the younger generation from sexual predators and human trafficking networks," concluded the legislator from the Central Java II electoral district.

As reported, a 15-year-old girl became a victim of exploitation by being used as a karaoke guide or LC (Lady Companion) in the West Jakarta area. The victim was even ordered to serve the lust of a masher until she was reported to be five months pregnant.

The Head of Public Relations of the Polda Metro Jaya, Kombes Ade Ary Syam Indradi, explained that this case was revealed after the victim's parents reported it to the police. As a result, 10 exploiters were arrested.

The police said that the two perpetrators RH and Z, who initially asked to get acquainted through social media, then offered the victim to work as a karaoke guide at a bar in the West Jakarta area with a salary of Rp. 175 thousand per hour.

Arriving in Jakarta, the victim was then accommodated in an apartment in Jakarta which was managed by two other perpetrators, TY alias BY and RH. After being accommodated, the victim was then escorted by another perpetrator, namely FS alias F alias C, and one child faced the law (ABH).

The victim was then escorted to a bar in the West Jakarta area called Bar Starmoon. At the bar, the victim met VFO alias S as the recruitment intermediary. The victim was then introduced to three other perpetrators as 'mami' who asked the victim to help serve the lust of the masher man.