A 28-year-old man was arrested for raping 30 children in the span of a week in the city of Chimoio in Manica Province, Mozambique. The man enticed and lured the children towards him by showing money, it is reported.
The serial sex offender then raped children who came towards him in the hope that he would give them money. It is reported that the children were aged between six and seven.
The Mozambique Republic Police (PRM) said he lured children towards him by showing money when their parents were working outdoors in the field and dragged the children towards the bushes and raped them.
The police revealed that his crime came to light when he tried to attack youngsters last week in the city of Chimoio and was overpowered by them and was brought to the police station by a victim he tried to target. That is when he spilled the beans during interrogation that he raped 30 children in the span of seven days.
Sexual offenders and rapists would face a jail term of up to 12 years in prison if found guilty and convicted and human rights activists in Mozambique have cried out calling the sentence too lenient and a harsher stance needs to be taken against rapists.
Statistics show that the police force receives at least two cases of rape complaints every week in Mozambique on an average, and according to the Demographic and Health Survey in Mozambique, more than 37% of women in the African country suffer from physical and sexual violence in their lifetime.
Activists say the number of unreported rape cases and sexual violence against women are far more than the reported ones and underreporting remains a major problem in the country, giving rapists the confidence that their acts won't be reported to the police out of fear and shame felt by the victims.
The United Nations Organization (UNO) has stepped in and has joined hands with the country's government along with human rights and civil society organizations, to help stop violence against women and children by putting the spotlight on the issue. The initiative, which was started in 2019 also aims to end child marriages in Mozambique, which is rampant in the villages.
