East Java court releases boys tried for rape

Four boys accused of raping a female classmate were found guilty Tuesday by the Trenggalek District Court of committing obscene acts with an underage child.

The panel of judges hearing the case in the East Java town ordered the boys returned to the custody of their parents. The judges also asked officials from Kediri Penitentiary and the Trenggalek Prosecutor's Office to monitor the boys until their 18th birthday.

Presiding judge Lilik Nuraeni said the verdict was based on the 2003 Child Protection Law, and took into account the age of the four boys, all elementary school students, and their parents' ability to care for them and monitor their behavior.

The four were charged with raping a female classmate in March. The victim, a fellow student at an elementary school in Trenggalek, was allegedly raped by the four boys on several occasions. The boys, one aged 12 the others 11, have been held at an adult prison in Trenggalek since June 28 while awaiting trial.

The victim has since been moved to a relative's house. None of her relatives attended the trial session Tuesday.

Following the verdict, Nonot Soeryono, a coordinator with the Surabaya Children's Crisis Center, which is part of the non-governmental organization Plan Surabaya Indonesia, said the court should have dismissed all charges against the defendants.

He said the prosecution failed to prove the rape ever occurred.

"The charges should have been dropped and the four boys completely exonerated because the prosecution failed to prove its case," Nonot told The Jakarta Post.

He feared the boys would be stigmatized by the court proceedings, which he claimed were unnecessary.

"It will be a long rehabilitation process that could traumatize the boys. Is that what the court really wants?" he said.

He said the crisis center, which provided legal assistance for the defendants, would consider the court's verdict before deciding what action, if any, it would take.

A project officer at the Children In Need Special Protection Project, Suratman, said that although the verdict was relatively light, the court's lack of perspective in dealing with child defendants should be protested.

"Since they are children, the state should have held their parents responsible. If parents can't take care of their children, they should be held responsible," he said.

This was not the first criminal trial involving a child defendant in an adult court. In March, 8-year-old Muhammad "Raju" Azwar was tried in an adult court in Langkat regency, North Sumatra.

Raju's trial was heavily criticized by children's rights groups, which called it inhumane and unnecessary.

The court found Raju guilty of assaulting Armansyah, 14, and returned him to his parents' custody. Raju was also detained in an adult prison before his trial.