The Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday convicted a 15-year-old boy of raping an 8-year-old girl in the capital’s Por Sen Chey district late last year.

Judge Pich Maren said that “based on the hearing, and the accused’s confession”, high school student Rorn Vanak was guilty of rape as defined under Article 239 of the Penal Code, which carries a prison sentence of between five and 10 years.

“But because he is a minor, the court decides to mitigate his sentence . . . so the court sentences him to 18 months in prison,” she explained.

According to Maren, Vanak was arrested by municipal juvenile protection police in November of 2014 based on a complaint filed by the victim’s parents shortly after the alleged crime.

He was accused of luring the young girl onto a motorbike on the pretence of taking her for a ride, only to take her to a patch of brush on the outskirts of Por Sen Chey and rape her.

Vanak and his defence attorney could not be reached for comment yesterday.