12Punto reveals: Questioned to the Minister of Justice! Dozens of defendants who abused a 15-year-old child are still free

12punto.com.tr   SİNEM NAZLI DEMİR

M.İ., who was subjected to sexual abuse by more than forty men for 4 months in 2019 (based on the statement given by the abused child regarding the number of defendants), was forced to meet with other men by the main defendants of the incident, became pregnant due to the sexual abuse she was subjected to, underwent an abortion, and was 15 years old at the time the aforementioned crimes were committed, is seeking justice along with her family. All defendants in the file are currently free.

ALL DEFENDANTS WERE ACQUITTED ON THE GROUNDS THAT "THE CHILD HAD CONSENT"

In the final hearing of the case, the local court stated, "...the victim was over the age of fifteen at the time of the crime in 2019, the victim stated in her police statement that she had sexual intercourse multiple times at different times based on her legally valid consent but was not a complainant, and the prosecution of the crime of 'Sexual Intercourse with a Minor,' which is alleged to have occurred as a result of the acts committed against the victim who was over fifteen at the time of the crime in 2019, is subject to a complaint..." and decided to acquit the defendants of the crime of "Kidnapping and Detaining a Child" and to drop the charges of "Sexual Intercourse with a Minor" from the file on the grounds that "the child had consent and was not a complainant."

Therefore, in this file, the defendants were acquitted on the "grounds" that the girl was over 15 years old at the time she was subjected to abuse and with the explanation that "she had consent"; the abuse was referred to as "having sexual intercourse," and the fact that she withdrew her complaint under threat was not taken into account.

The family and their lawyers are fighting for justice to ensure that the objections made regarding this file, which was moved to the Court of Appeal, are heard by the public.

"MORE THAN 40 PERPETRATORS ARE WALKING AROUND FREELY"

IYI Party Aydın MP Ömer Karakaş had announced the incident to the public from the podium during the budget negotiations held in Parliament on December 14, 2024, regarding the release of the defendants in the file.

In his speech, Karakaş criticized the AK Party government regarding security and drew attention to the increasing crimes against children with the following sentences:

"Our girls are being harassed on the street, women are being murdered, but no diligent work is being carried out to find the perpetrators. A 15-year-old girl is being systematically and qualifiedly harassed by more than 40 people. Afterwards, the girl—mind you, she is 15—says 'I had consent' in her statement because she is afraid, and then her father takes the child to Aksaray State Hospital for an abortion. Now, this girl cannot go to get an abortion alone, but those 40-plus perpetrators who say 'She had consent' are, unfortunately, walking around freely in our country today."

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION SUBMITTED TO MINISTER OF JUSTICE YILMAZ TUNÇ REGARDING THE FILE

Today, a new development occurred regarding the file. IYI Party MP Ömer Karakaş submitted a parliamentary question regarding the file moved to the Court of Appeal, requesting a response from Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç.

In the motion, the following questions were asked to Tunç:

1) Mr. Yılmaz Tunç, what is your assessment of the words of the father, Y.İ., who says, "My child cannot get an abortion alone due to her age, but it can be said that 'she had consent'"?

2) Why was the case opened regarding the allegation that a 15-year-old girl was subjected to abuse by more than 40 people not heard in the high criminal court? How were the defendants released in such a case?

3) How can the consent of a 15-year-old child be in question in cases of abuse?

The response that Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç will give to the parliamentary question is awaited by the family and their lawyers, who have been fighting a legal battle for years.

Editor's note: Due to the best interests of the child, the names of the child and her family, the details of the location where the crime was committed, and the names of the defendants mentioned in the file have been kept confidential in this news report.

According to TUIK statistics, 22 thousand girls and 3,626 boys were victims of sexual crimes in 2023.

More than 66 thousand child sexual abuse files were opened in 2023 alone.

14,919 child sexual abuse cases were heard in courts. 7 thousand 88 people were convicted.

More than 10 thousand girls were forced into marriage in 2023 alone.

In 2023, 130 children under the age of 15 gave birth. In the 15-17 age group, 6,505 children gave birth.

At least 14 girls were murdered in the first 7 months of 2024.