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A court in Nghe An Province sentenced a 68-year-old man to 12 years for raping and impregnating a minor, the most lenient allowable sentence for his crime.
Uong Van Duoc, 68, was charged with sexual assault and multiple counts of statutory rape.
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Uong Van Duoc at a trial in Nghe An Province for child rape. Photo by Hai Binh |
According to the indictment, Duoc first assaulted the girl in April 2014 after drinking at her family’s shop; she was 12 years old at the time.
Duoc reportedly paid the girl to keep quiet and bought her a cell phone she used to notify him whenever her parents left home.
Duoc continued to have sex with the child until late 2015, when a doctor informed the child's mother she was 26 weeks pregnant.
DNA tests identified Duoc as the father of the baby, who is now six months old and healthy.
Vietnamese law views sex with child under the age of 13 as a crime punishable by between 12 years in prison and death. Such crimes account for nearly two-thirds of the average of 1,000 sexual assaults reported in the country each year.
Observers have criticized Vietnam's educational system for failing to provide sexual education and how to protect themselves against sexual predators.
Many parents, meanwhile, continue to view talking with children about sex as tantamount to encouraging them to have sex.
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