The ministry is ready to accommodate the victims at some of its shelters around Jakarta if necessary for social rehabilitation
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Social Affairs Ministry will aid the social rehabilitation of 305 child victims in the sexual abuse and exploitation case involving a 65-year-old French retiree Francois Abello Camille (FCA) alias Frans.

"The ministry is ready to accommodate the victims at some of its shelters around Jakarta if necessary for social rehabilitation," Social Affairs Minister Juliari P. Batubara noted in a statement here on Friday.

The ministry will support the legal process against the suspect and the psychosocial recovery of the victims.

Expressing deep concern over the case, Batubara called for serious and synergistic efforts among related institutions, such as the police, Social Affairs Ministry, Women Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry, as well as the public, to prevent such a case from recurring in future.

The ministry's Director General of Social Rehabilitation, Harry Hikmat, ensured that the ministry will continue to apply preventive measures involving various parties and has launched a national campaign on child protection.

The ministry has intensified its cooperation with the Indonesian Child Protection Agency (LPAI), National Commission on Child Protection, and Child Social Welfare Institution (LKSA) to disseminate information on the importance of the family's responsibility to protect children in the wake of increasing risk of child abuse.

The Jakarta Metro Police's Criminal Investigation Unit arrested Frans in June 2020 at a hotel in Jakarta where they found two underage girls in his room.

Based on the police’s investigation, the suspect approached street children and lured them by offering them work as models.

Those who agreed to engage in sex with him would get paid between Rp250 thousand to Rp1 million (US$17-70), whereas those resisting to have sex would be beaten, slapped, and kicked by the suspect.

The suspect has committed the crime at three different hotels in the capital city during the period from December 2109 to June 2020, but the police believe he had engaged in such acts long before that.

The police seized 21 pieces of clothing worn by the victims for the making of the video. It also seized a laptop containing names of 305 victims, their photos and videos.

As many as 17 victims have been identified in the investigation process during the past three months.

Frans will be charged with article 81 of Law No.1 of 2016 on child protection and is liable to face a jail term of 10-20 years or life in prison and/or death sentence.
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Translator: Desi Purnamawati, Sri Haryati
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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