Komnas PA Guards Trial Of Sexual Violence Cases At SPI Batu City

Chairman of Komnas PA Arist Merdeka Sirait/Photo: Antara

MALANG - The National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) stated that it will continue to oversee the trial of the sexual violence case that occurred at the Selamat Pagi Indonesia (SPI) School, Batu City, East Java, with the defendant JE.

The chairman of Komnas PA Arist Merdeka Sirait in Malang City, East Java, Wednesday, July 6, said that his party was continuing to oversee the trial, which was held behind closed doors at the Malang District Court.

"We have to guard this case, don't let it be left alone because children can become victims of predators like the defendant JE did," Arist said as quoted by Antara.

Arist explained that Komnas PA had provided assistance to victims of sexual violence for approximately 1 year. He hopes that the judicial process can run well and provide justice to the victims.

Key Witnesses

His party regretted the existence of an expert witness who was supposed to provide protection to children victims of violence, but in the case of Batu City, SPI gave testimony to lighten the defendant's case.

"I know him (the expert witness), he is a children activist who should defend the victim, not the perpetrator. But that is the legal right of the expert witness who was brought in," he said.

In the follow-up hearing of the sexual violence case that occurred at the Selamat Pagi Indonesia School in Batu City, the defendant had the initials JE to be questioned. The trial will continue on July 20, 2022, with the agenda of reading the charges against JE.

The Public Prosecutor of the Batu City Public Prosecutor's Office charged the defendant JE, the owner of the Selamat Pagi Indonesia School in Batu City, with an alternative article. The defendant faces a minimum prison sentence of 3 years and a maximum of 15 years.

JE was charged with a number of articles, namely, first, Article 81 paragraph 1 in conjunction with Article 76 D of the Law on Child Protection, in conjunction with Article 64 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code (KUHP).

Then, Article 81 paragraph 2 of the Law on Child Protection, in conjunction with Article 64 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code, Article 82 paragraph 1, in conjunction with Article 76e of the Child Protection Law, in conjunction with Article 64 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code and Article 294 paragraph 2 of the Second Criminal Code, in conjunction with Article 64 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code.

In the indictment file read by the Public Prosecutor, who was the victim of the alleged sexual assault, there was one victim witness with the initials S. This is a fact of the trial that is currently ongoing.