Man Detains and Sexually Abuses Junior High School Student in Makassar After Meeting Her in a WhatsApp Group

A 15-year-old junior high school student from Bantaeng Regency, South Sulawesi, was taken away by a man she met in a WhatsApp group. The victim was held captive for two weeks and sexually abused.

As reported by detiksulsel on Friday (27/2/2026), the perpetrator took the victim from her school in Bantaeng Regency on Wednesday (11/2/2026). Police, who conducted an investigation, arrested the perpetrator in a boarding house room on Jalan Perintis Kemerdekaan, Tamalanrea District, Makassar, on Wednesday (25/2).

“We have apprehended him in connection with the case of abducting a minor. The perpetrator is 23 years old, while the victim is 15 years old,” said the Head of the South Sulawesi Police Mobile Investigation Team, Aipda Wawan Ganam, to reporters on Thursday (26/2/2026).

Wawan explained that the perpetrator and the victim initially met in a WhatsApp group. The perpetrator then used deception to pick up the victim.

The perpetrator picked up the victim at her school, claiming to be her cousin. He initially said he was going to Sinjai, but instead took the victim to Makassar. During their time in Makassar, the victim was taken to the perpetrator’s boarding house. During questioning, the victim admitted that she had been subjected to sexual abuse. “After we interrogated her, the victim admitted that she had been sexually assaulted,” Wawan concluded.