KPAI: Rapists Of 12 Female Students Could Be Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison And Castration

Screenshot of Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) Commissioner Retno Listyarti during a public discussion monitored in Jakarta. (Photo: Indriani/Antara)

JAKARTA - Commissioner of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) Retno Listyarti said the rapists of 12 female students in Bandung, West Java, could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison plus castration.

"In my opinion, the judge will have to decide on the maximum sentence, there is a weighting of one-third earlier. If there are many victims, repeated multiple times, in fact, they can be sentenced to additional punishment, namely castration," said Retno in Jakarta, Thursday.

The perpetrator who is the victim's teacher at the Islamic boarding school where the victim is staying is considered the closest person to the victim so that the punishment for the perpetrator can be increased by a third of the total maximum of 15 years in prison. Thus, the perpetrator could be sentenced to at least 20 years in prison.

In addition, the perpetrator can be sentenced to additional punishment in the form of castration because sexual violence may be carried out repeatedly until 9 victims are found to be pregnant.

"With the consideration that the future of these children has been damaged and sexual violence has been carried out repeatedly against several people, so the perpetrators deserve to be given additional punishment in the form of castration," said Retno.

Castration can also be sentenced to perpetrators after carrying out both the main and additional prison sentences, which are a maximum of 20 years. However, this maximum sentence will depend on the prosecutor's demands and the judge's decision.

Retno emphasized that in cases of sexual violence against children, the perpetrators cannot argue that they are consensual because the victim is under the age of 18.

"Intercourse with a child is a crime, so there is no consensual, consensual, not in the context of sexual intercourse with a child. Moreover, with an unequal power relationship, where the perpetrator is a teacher and the victim is a student, students are under threat if they don't want to comply with the teacher's will," she said.