Social Affairs Ministry: Child Sex Abuse Victim Undergoing Checkups, Evaluation

A Syrian child, who has been sexually assaulted by allegedly a man suffering from AIDS in the South, is undergoing medical checkups and psychiatric evaluation, the Social Affairs Ministry said on Friday.

“The Syrian child who has been the victim of a monstrous sexual assault in the area of Marjeyoun has been placed under the care of the UNHCR since Tuesday and is undergoing medical checkups and psychiatric follow-up,” the ministry said.

Caretaker Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil ordered the Marjeyoun state hospital to serve the victim and his family after a telephone call he received from caretaker Social Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour, it said.

The Social Affairs Ministry stated that it has sent a psychiatric and social support team to assess the condition of the child and his family.

Abou Faour has also contacted the involved security and judicial agencies, which have not yet confirmed that the suspect was HIV positive, the statement said.

The ministry did not state the age of the child or the circumstances of the assault.

But An Nahar said a day earlier that the four-year-old refugee was assaulted by a Syrian worker who lives near the victim's family and is employed by the boy's father.