A man accused of repeatedly raping an underage girl in the capital’s Por Sen Chey district was sent to Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday.

Dangkor police chief Chim Sitha said the 26-year-old suspect was a teacher and vice principal at an English language school, while the 15-year-old victim was his student.

“The suspect told the police that he had sexual relations with his student, who was a minor, but it was consensual. If he is proven to have committed a crime, he will face legal consequences,” he said.

A Kraing Pongro commune police officer, who asked not to be identified, said the victim’s family filed a complaint at the commune police station on Monday claiming that the suspect had sexually assaulted their daughter multiple times.

Police then started an investigation and summoned the suspect to the station for questioning.

Quoting the family’s complaint, he said the incident occurred between December 20-24 last year, when the suspect took the victim on a date.

The teacher then brought the student to a guesthouse in Por Sen Chey district’s Phleung Chheh Roteh commune where he allegedly raped her, the officer said.

“The police did not arrest the suspect immediately. We needed to speak with the senior officials first. Afterwards, they ordered us to summon the suspect for questioning. We can only detain the suspect without consulting with the senior officials if the crime happened recently,” he said.

The officer further noted that “the suspect came to the commune police station voluntarily and confessed that he had sex with the victim two times with her consent”.