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Three relatives held for marrying off underage girl
LIRA: Three people in Adekokwok Sub-county, Lira District have been arrested for allegedly marrying off a juvenile.
The suspects allegedly forced a 16-year-old girl to drop out of school in February and gave her to a 20-year-old man in exchange for one cow, two goats and two chickens.
The girl, a Primary Six pupil at Lango Quran Primary School in Lira Town, was being supported by Platform for Labour Action (PLA).
Police have identified the man who allegedly disappeared with the juvenile upon receiving her with “blessings” from her parents as Brian Emor.
The other three suspects currently being jailed at Lira Central Police Station include the girl’s father Mr Denis Otim plus her two brothers Geoffrey Otiti and John Bua.
Police say they have charged Emor with defilement while her relatives face charges of procuring defilement.
North Kyoga Regional Police spokesperson, Mr David Ongom Mudong confirmed the development.
He said they were alerted about the crime by concerned residents on August 15 which prompted them to arrest the suspects.
“Investigations also revealed that the same girl has ever been defiled and impregnated by an unknown man but the case was not reported to any police station,” Mr Mudong said on Monday.
He said the suspects have confessed to the offence and their case file has been submitted to the Resident State Attorney for perusal.
Statistics show that cases of defilement are on the rise in Lango Sub-region with Lira Central Police Station alone, recording four cases on a weekly basis.
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