Two men from Briceni district were recently sentenced to 15 years in jail each for sexually abusing female neighbors younger than 18. In this connection, the Prosecutor General’s Office warns about the alarming level of sexual abuses in Moldova. According to statistics, over 600 sexual offenses were committed in the country last year, IPN reports.

In the first case, a 38-year-old man from Mărcăuți village of Briceni district entered the house of his neighbors at night with the intention of raping their daughter aged 17. The girl managed to run away, but the culprit caught the younger daughter aged 12, whom he raped in the garden. Girls’ brothers sought help and the man was apprehended.

In two months, the judges released the suspect from arrest, ordering that this should be investigated outside remand. The abuser fled Moldova and was put on the wanted list. He was arrested five years later by the Russian authorities and was expelled to Moldova last summer.

In the second case, a man aged 55 from Lipcani village of Briceni district in July 2018 raped the 13-year-old daughter of his neighbors, who came to him to borrow some things at the request of her parents, while under the influence of alcohol. He threatened her and the girl didn’t tell someone about what happened. In two days, the incident repeated and the girl told her mother about it.

Both of the sentences can be challenged in the Appeals Court.

The statistics of the Prosecutor General’s Office show 611 sexual offenses were committed in Moldova in 2018, with 115 perpetrators being jailed. Currently, 1,189 persons or each fifth convict serve time in prison for committing sexual offenses.