Two child molestation incidents in just 24 hours

 Child Molestation

A TV series scenario is repeated in two child molestation incidents within 24 hours.

Security agencies affiliated with the Ministry of Interior recorded two child molestation incidents within just 24 hours. One of them resulted in the death of an elderly man, indicating the same phenomenon addressed in the TV series.

According to a security source, the mother initially thought the elderly man was stalking her, but he proceeded to molest her young daughter. She screamed, and several people gathered to try to catch him. He attempted to flee, but due to his advanced age, he was unable to do so.

He added, in exclusive statements to Sky News Arabia, that the man stumbled while trying to escape from those who tried to grab him, and fell, hitting his head on the sidewalk. He died from the injuries and significant blood loss.

He noted that Egyptian security forces have taken the body to the morgue and placed it at the disposal of the Public Prosecution, which has yet to decide on burial or an autopsy. The prosecution has also heard the statements of the woman, her daughter, and several witnesses on the street.

In less than 24 hours, a man was arrested for molesting a 12-year-old girl with special needs. Investigations by the security services and the Public Prosecution revealed that the girl was subjected to physical abuse by her neighbor, which placed him in prison for three years.

Colonel Mohamed Ibrahim, from the Ministry of Interior, indicated that the investigations department in the Old Cairo district in central Cairo had received a report from a woman about her neighbor harassing her young daughter, who suffers from a special mental condition. The girl told her, "My uncle, my neighbor, does shameful things."

He explained that the Public Prosecution's investigations were able to prove the defendant's guilt. They revealed that he entered the building adjacent to his home in Old Cairo and met the girl at the entrance to the house after learning that no one from her family was present. He forced her to hug and kiss him, and to touch sensitive parts of her body.

The Psychological Factor

For his part, Dr. Abdel Sattar Nafie, a professor in the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Arts, explained that the recurrence of child molestation incidents requires extensive study and prompt treatment, beginning with psychological awareness among children about the need to prevent anyone from touching their bodies.

He added, in exclusive statements to Sky News Arabia, that child molestation and the violation of their innocence have worsened due to years of mistreatment by parents, who have viewed talking about such matters as a "scandal" or a "shame" that could befall them.

He continued: "What is kept quiet always worsens, so the series "Lam Shamsya" came to deal a blow to society's silence and force those subjected to this type of harassment to reject it and speak out. This can be described as a resolution to a regrettable situation that has persisted for years."

Regarding the psychological motives behind such practices, he said that some harassers suffer from varying degrees of mental illness, but they are ultimately aware and responsible for their actions, and therefore can be held accountable for every crime they commit.

Nafea suggested that some of them were molested as children, while others suffer from a condition called "pedophilia," which is a sexual desire for children. This condition has symptoms, attacks, and a treatment in psychiatry, but the priority here is to recognize the illness and prepare for treatment.

Harassment Punishment

For his part, the Executive Director of the General Law Office, Mr. Al-Mohammadi, explained that the penalty for child molestation can reach a maximum of 15 years in prison, while the penalty can reach 25 years—known as life imprisonment—or the death penalty if the child dies as a result of the assault.

The Egyptian lawyer praised the Ministry of Interior and the agencies concerned with women and children for establishing hotlines to quickly respond to the public when children and girls are subjected to harassment. The most important of these is the Child Helpline, which is an important step towards combating this growing phenomenon