Gem businessman & ship captain among 26 arrested for statutory rape of 15-year-old girl

COLOMBO (News 1st); Several more suspects were arrested for Child Sex Trafficking following the revelation of an incident where a 15-year-old girl-child was sexually exploited.

Police Spokesperson Senior DIG Ajith Rohana 04 of the suspects were arrested on Friday (02) afternoon and among them is a gem businessman, the skipper of a vessel and members of his crew.

Another suspect was arrested on Friday (02) night in connection to the Child Sex Trafficking ring.

A 15-year-old girl was sexually exploited by an individual in Mount Lavinia via social media outlets and the main suspect in connection with the incident was arrested on the 07th of June, by a special team led by Headquarter-Inspector of Mount Lavinia.

As of Saturday (03), 26 people have been arrested over the crime and another 16 people have been identified for committing the crime of statutory rape as well as procuration and human trafficking, said the Police Spokesperson.

Among those arrested are, the mother of the victim, another woman, a three-wheeler driver, a car driver, the individual who designed the advertisement, and the Deputy-Chairman of the Mihintale Pradeshiya Sabha, said the Senior DIG Ajith Rohana.

The 15-year-old female victim had been exploited for three months and she had been handed over to various people to be exploited.

Police teams are investigating social media messaging apps over the crime.