Parents withdraw complaint over uncle’s rape of their son

A magistrate yesterday had to declare a case closed against a “moderately retarded” man who had sexual relations with his nephew and exposed himself to the child’s younger brother, after the injured party renounced their complaint to the police.

Under law, this means the court cannot take its action further.

The case goes back to 2000 when the parents of the two boys noticed their children behaving oddly and the older one then revealed he had a sexual relationship with his uncle.

He told them his uncle had penetrative sex with him in the uncle’s garden shed where he used to breed chickens and that he had also tried to have sex with his younger brother.

When the police questioned the two boys they confirmed what they had told their parents.

When the police spoke to the accused he at first denied the accusations but then admitted to having had sex with the older child and participating in lewd acts in front of the younger one. Psychologists said the accused suffered from “moderate retardation” and received a disability pension. He had the mental age of a boy although he did understand the difference between right and wrong.

Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani said she had no doubt the man had committed the crime but had to examine the law after the children’s parents’ renounced criminal action against the man.

The law, she said, did not allow the court to proceed any further since the parents, or the “private party”, renounced criminal action. This left her with no other option but to declare the case closed.