A man from the Kerowagi district of Chimbu Province has been arrested and is in court over the alleged abduction and sexual assault of a toddler in May.
The father-of-two appeared in the Central Committal Court after he was arrested and charged under the criminal code, with one count of sexual penetration and one count of deprivation.
The three-year-old victim is from the same district as the accused.
Police allege that on May 13 this year, the victim was taken by the accused while the parents were busy attending to other things during a family gathering out at the Adventure Park, outside Port Moresby.
According to the statement of facts in court, the three-year-old girl was left playing with her other cousins when she went missing.
When the event had ended, the father of the victim noticed she was missing.
A search for the toddler revealed that a man was earlier seen leaving with what looked like a child wrapped in a cloth.
The father of the victim caught up to the man, earlier described by relatives, as he was walking on the main road towards the Kinakon power station, at 12-Mile. He still had the victim in his hands.
The victim was taken off the accused and her naked body freed from the cloth.
A careful examination of her body revealed bleeding from her genital parts.
When questioned by police, the accused said he had a previous injury to his head, which causes him to “lose some of his senses when he takes in alcohol”.
He had been released on K1000 bail.
The case against him continues where police will investigate and present its finding before the Committal Court to see if there is enough evidence to push his case to the National Court for trial.
(The Waigani District Court)