Sampang Police Arrest Four More Suspects in Child Sexual Abuse Case, Total Now 17

Sampang (ANTARA) - The Sampang Resort Police in East Java have arrested four more suspects in an alleged child sexual abuse case, bringing the total number of detained perpetrators to 17 out of 27 identified individuals. Sampang Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Hartono told reporters at the Sampang Police Headquarters in Madura on Monday that two of the four newly arrested suspects are minors, while the other two are adults. The four suspects have the initials LN (14) and AR (15), both residents of Sampang District, and RQ (24) and MT (20), residents of Omben District. All suspects are charged under Article 473 paragraph (2) of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code in conjunction with Law Number 1 of 2026 concerning Criminal Adjustments, Article 20 of Law Number 11 of 2012, and Article 82 paragraphs (1) and (2) of Law Number 23 of 2002 concerning Child Protection, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years. The victim in this alleged sexual abuse case is a 15-year-old child. The Police Chief explained that the arrests of the four suspects were carried out by his personnel on 17 July 2026 at four different locations. Currently, only the adult suspects are being detained at the Sampang Police Headquarters, while the underage suspects are being handled by the Directorate of Women and Child Protection of the East Java Regional Police. The case of sexual violence against a minor occurred in February 2026 when the victim was alone in the Jalan Suhadak area of Sampang City. The victim was approached by several perpetrators, persuaded, threatened, and forced to comply with their demands. Police also suspect the victim was plied with alcohol before the sexual assault took place. According to the Sampang Police investigation, the alleged criminal acts occurred in three locations: Panggung Village in Sampang District, Astapah Village in Omben District, and Madupat Village in Camplong District. Following the initial investigation, police arrested two more suspects, bringing the total number of detainees at that time to 12. On Monday (13/7), police arrested another perpetrator, while 14 other suspects remained at large. On Friday (17/7), the Sampang Police arrested four more suspects, bringing the total number of arrests to 17. The Sampang Police Chief urged the remaining fugitives to surrender immediately and called on parents to increase supervision of their children.