Crime | Domestic helper arrested for raping toddler

A domestic helper has been accused of raping a three-year-old boy, the Judiciary Police (PJ) reported on Monday.

The suspect is a 46-year-old woman from the Philippines who was hired by a family living in the Macau Peninsula in August last year. The family’s 3 years and 8 months old son was the victim.

Beginning in October this year, the boy’s parents became unable to spend time with their son between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. as they were looking after their own parents.

During these times, the boy was cared for by the domestic helper, who picked him up from school and bathed him.

On Dec. 15 while the mother was changing her son’s shirt, he told her that the domestic helper had performed oral sex on him.

The suspect admitted to the crime but refused to reveal the details, nor explain why she committed the offence.

The PJ believes that the suspect raped the victim more than once.

The suspect has been transferred to the prosecution authority under the charge of rape.

Earlier this week, the General Association of Chinese Students of Macao urged the government to classify the sexual assault of children less than 16 years old as a public crime.

The association believes that the recent frequency of reports of sexual assault against children indicates the need for increased punishment and prevention of such crime. The current law requires the parents of the victims to report sexual assault cases on behalf of their children. However, the association believes that the traditional Chinese mindset that “family shames should not be spread abroad” means parents are likely to choose to solve matters privately.