Story of the 14-years-old girl, who was kidnapped and raped twice – police has not arrested the harasser

Reginfo.ge 

In Sagarejo municipality, several individuals kidnapped 14-years-old girl and took her to the farm far from the village. They locked her in the room together with the 24-years-old man. The girl was resisting the man but the latter beat her, bounded to the bed and raped. The harasser told her that he wanted to marry her. On the same night, he twice raped the girl.

Next morning, the relatives of the man sent the girl back to her family. She told everything to the parents and said she would kill herself if the parents force her to marry him. The parents appealed the police. 

Sagarejo municipal police started investigation under the Article 140 of the Criminal Code of Georgia that refers to the sexual intercourse with a person who has not yet attained the age of 16. The crime is punished by imprisonment from 7 to 9 years in length. The victim described the incident in details and named all individuals who participated in her kidnapping.

According to official reports the violator hid from the investigation. The court imposed compulsory measure – imprisonment - on him in absentia. The prosecutor’s office did not start prosecution against other individuals, who were named by the victim as kidnappers. 

The crime happened on December 7, 2015. The Signagi district court started processing of the case on July 21, 2016. Judge Giorgi Bukhrashvili has been studying the case for 35 months already. As the case refers to underage victim and sexual offence, the hearings are closed. Meanwhile, the lawyer of Human Rights Center Lia Khuroshvili, who took up the case as victim’s attorney in October 2016, petitioned the Signagi district prosecutor’s office and court several times with the request to get access to case files. Neither PO nor the court satisfied her claim. Moreover, the lawyer had to send several petitions to get access to the court hearings.

 

After the accident, the victim stopped going to school for 2 years. Her status of student was suspended; she did not receive assistance of psychologist. In 2017, the parents sent her to public school in the neighboring village. 

The lawyer said the girl was under permanent psychological oppression and intimidation from the neighbors and relatives of the harasser that after turning 16 she would marry the harasser. The girl kept warning her parents that she would kill herself if they compel her to marry the harasser. 

HRC re-appealed the Chief Prosecutor’s office with regard to this case on December 3, 2018 and requested to change the qualification of the accusation into Article 137 Part III – “d” of the Criminal Code of Georgia which refers to rape because the underage girl’s freedom was restricted by a group of people and as a result was raped. The crime is punishable by imprisonment from 10 to 13 years in length.

 

Investigation has not yet identified gender discrimination in the crime. Chief Prosecutor’s Office was forwarding the complaints to the Signagi prosecutor’s office.

The violence victim was questioned in the court on December 20, 2018. She again described the incident which happened three years ago. She again named all participants of the crime – the defendant, his cousins and relatives, farm watchman, who witnessed how she was locked in the room, where she spent all night. 

“I know him (the harasser) very well. He is the son of my father’s cousin. We live very close. I know him all my life. I know his family members too and he also knows mine. On that day, I visited his sister, the friends took me there. He came there and said that my father was calling him and wanted to speak with me. I told him my father could call me on my phone number. He grabbed me and took me outside by force. Two persons were in the yard and a white car was standing at the gate. His two cousins were there. They pushed me into the car. People in the yard saw me but they did not say anything. I was crying for help but they did not help. It was about 8 pm, it was dark; they drove towards the field. There was farm there and took me there. Nobody was there to ask for help. A man was in the farm, he opened the door. They knew each other. They took me into the room; I was shouting and tried to disobey. There was no light. There was only fireplace and the light coming from there lit the room. They left me alone with him and locked the door from outside. Later he wanted to go out and knocked them out to open the door. 

I was resisting him during violence. I pushed a TV-set standing nearby, which fell off and broke. He slapped me in the face and I fell on the shatters of the TV-set. He started to undress me but I resisted. He tore my ear, then bounded me to the bed and raped. 

Afterwards he went outside but soon returned and raped me again. Then he slept for a short time. I was very scared and exhausted. Then he got up and left. The door was locked from outside. The room had a window but it was nailed with boards and I could not get out through it. 

It was early morning when he third time raped me. I was trying to resist him but was already very exhausted. I felt pain all over the body. He said he wanted to marry me and would buy gold jewelry for me. Everybody knew that I was only 14. 

In the morning I was taken out of the room into the front room. They offered tea but I refused. So they took me back to the previous room and again bounded to the bed. Soon, his aunt and brother came and took me home by white car. I met my parents and told them everything,” the victim told the court in her testimony, which was obtained by Reginfo.

The forensic medical expertise confirmed that the girl was raped on December 7, 2015. According to the biological-genetic expertise conclusion, the biological material discovered on her clothes belonged to the defendant. 

By April 3, 2019 the victim studied in the public school in the neighboring village.

On April 4, the defendant, who is sought by police, repeatedly kidnapped the victim from the village center and had sexual intercourse with her again. 

The school director told Reginfo that their administration immediately notified the police about kidnapping as soon as they learned about the incident.

“He kidnapped the girl for the second time. What could I do? The police and everybody knew about it,” representative of the municipality mayor in the village said. 

Representatives of MIA told Reginfo that the investigation into the April 4 incident started under Article 143 of the GCC, which refers to illegal restriction of freedom. 

“The girl agreed to reconcile with the man, went to his family and said that she loved him. There is written notification about it that she wants to apply all legal preferences with regard to him. Why have they started new investigation now?” the defense lawyer wondered. 

Human Rights Center believes the state failed to protect the juvenile victim. “Regardless many legislative changes and public statements about intensive fight against violence and early marriage, the MIA, prosecutor’s office and court failed to protect the girl. She became victim of the repeated violence. The environment, where the victim is now, most probably tries to psychologically oppress her. The victim and her parents permanently spoke about this threat. With ineffective respond and dragged out investigation, the wanted defendant was allowed to repeatedly commit the crime,” HRC lawyer Lia Khuroshvili told Reginfo and added that she is deprived of the possibility to communicate her client. 

At the May 2, 2019 trial, the defense lawyer presented the notarized written notification of the victim and her mother that she no longer sues the harasser. The defense lawyer negotiates plea-agreement with the prosecutor’s office. 

Currently, the victim lives in the house of the harasser. The neighbors avoid speaking about the case but several people confirmed this information. They said, recently they noticed the wanted defendant in their neighborhood. 

Next trial in the Signagi district court is scheduled at 13:00 pm on June 13.