9-year-old raped in stairway of her apartment building

A 9-year-old Chisinau girl was raped in the stairway of her apartment building in Centru district, the Ministry of Interiors reported. According to police accounts, the girl was returning from school at around 4:30PM when she was stopped by a nameless man who raped her. The girl cried for help but the neighbors reacted too late. Witnesses say that the rapist was waited for outside the building by another man, but both disappeared shortly. The police identified certain features of the suspect, and a 57-year-old Chisinau man was arrested as matching the description. The suspect is thought to be a street person who abandoned his family in 2002. If found guilty, the man could serve 25 years' imprisonment or even a life term. 68 crimes of sexual nature have been recored this year in Moldova. The Interiors Ministry urges parents and children to be cautious with suspect persons, to avoid verbal contact and sharing an elevator ride with them.