Married Man in East Manggarai Rapes 8-Year-Old Girl Under Guise of Picking Papayas

An 8-year-old girl, identified by the initials FY, was allegedly raped by a 25-year-old married man, JN, in Kota Komba District, East Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). The incident occurred in JN’s garden on the morning of 29 June 2026 and was reported by the victim’s father to the East Manggarai Police on 30 June 2026.

East Manggarai Police Criminal Investigation Unit Head, First Inspector Ahmad Zacky Shodri, confirmed the report concerned a criminal act of sexual intercourse. The incident began when FY and her father’s younger sibling went to the garden on the morning of 29 June. Upon arrival, the victim’s father asked FY and her sibling to guard the garden against sparrows while he moved to another garden to do the same.

At around 9:00 a.m. local time, the father returned to the first garden to check on the children and bring them food. He overheard JN inviting the victim and her sibling to pick papayas in his nearby garden. The father initially refused the invitation as the children were still tasked with guarding the garden. When he returned shortly afterwards, he found FY and her sibling missing and recalled JN’s earlier invitation.

He immediately went to JN’s garden, arriving around 10:30 a.m., where he found the victim’s sibling crying. When he confronted JN, asking what he intended by taking the children to his garden, JN did not respond. The father then took the children back to their garden hut, where FY disclosed she had been raped by JN.

Shortly after, JN arrived at the hut asking for palm leaves. The father expressed his outrage over the act. JN initially denied the allegation but eventually confessed after the father raised the possibility that the victim could become pregnant. The father then instructed JN to meet with his parents and wife, and later that afternoon reported the case to the East Manggarai Police.