A local Koh Kong journalist was arrested over the weekend and sent to court yesterday for allegedly raping a teenage acquaintance, a police official said.

But Sophon, 51, a reporter for the Democratic Coalition Newspaper, was arrested on Friday for the alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl, provincial police chief Sam Khitvean said.

“He was preliminarily accused by our police with raping an underage girl and was sent to court to be charged,” he said.

“If he is found guilty, he will face a punishment of up to 15 years' imprisonment.”

Sok Nhar, chief of the serious penal crimes unit, said the victim filed a complaint alleging she was raped twice by Sophon.

According to the complaint, in early August, Sophon took the victim – a daughter of his friends – on a trip to Preah Sihanouk province. During the drive, he pulled into a forest and raped her twice.

Upon arriving home, she told her parents, who filed a police complaint.

Sophon and his defence attorney could not be reached.