The Samdrup Jongkhar District Court has acquitted a 24-year-old man accused of raping a minor. In its judgment delivered on Monday, the court stated that the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) had mistaken a fact that the girl, who was actually a minor, had claimed to be an adult to pursue a relationship with the man. This led to the acquittal of the accused. However, the court ordered the man to pay Nu 150,000 within 10 days of the judgment.
The incident dates back to August last year, when a girl was found with emergency contraceptive pills during a surprise inspection at her school. She confessed to having had physical relations with a 24-year-old man, and the school reported the matter to the police the same day.
The accused was subsequently arrested.
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) charged the man with rape of a minor. However, the accused claimed he did not know she was underage.
According to the judgment, the girl had misled him by sending a screenshot of a false date of birth from her Facebook account, making him believe she was an adult. She later admitted to lying about her age, and the court stated that the relationship had been consensual. The court ruled that this mistake of fact led to his acquittal.
The court also rejected the OAG’s additional charge of child pornography. Although police found nude videos of the girl on the man’s phone, the verdict stated that the charge was introduced while the case was already under trial and did not meet due process requirements.
Both parties have ten days to appeal the judgment to a higher court.
Tashi Dekar & Kinley Wangchuk
Edited by Sangay Chezom
