Supreme Court upholds mother’s 18-year sentence for enabling daughter’s abuse

The Supreme Court of the Maldives has overturned a High Court ruling that had quashed an 18-year and six-month prison sentence imposed on a mother for facilitating and encouraging the sexual abuse of her daughter.

The Supreme Court’s verdict upholds the original judgments issued by the HDh. Kulhudhuffushi Magistrate Court.

The case concerns a mother who, beginning in 2014, encouraged and facilitated multiple instances of sexual abuse against her daughter by another individual. In 2016, the Kulhudhuffushi Magistrate Court convicted the woman on two charges: forcing a child to engage a sexual act while in a position of trust and failing to report the sexual abuse of a minor despite knowing about it.

She was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the first charge and an additional six months for the second.

However, on appeal in 2018, the High Court overturned both convictions. The High Court based its decision on the inability to establish whether the defendant had received the case documents during the trial, which it considered a violation of her right to a defense. The court also ruled that the charge of failing to report the abuse had been filed without a proper investigation into the specific allegation.

The Supreme Court's Final Ruling:

The Supreme Court noted that the case took place before the enactment of the Criminal Procedure Act. Although courts did not maintain specific records of document delivery at the time, the Court highlighted that the defendant had never raised concerns about not receiving the documents during the trial. It further observed that she had been given ample opportunity to appoint legal counsel and had actively cross-examined witnesses about the State’s reports, indicating that she likely had access to the necessary documents.

Regarding the claim that the charge had been filed without an investigation, the Supreme Court determined from police statements that the defendant had indeed been questioned about her failure to report the abuse. The records showed that she had admitted during the investigation to knowing about the abuse and keeping it secret, establishing grounds for the charge.

Consequently, the ruling, authored by Justice Ali Rasheed Hussain and supported by Justices Aisha Shujune Mohamed and Mohamed Saleem, overturned the High Court’s decision, upholding the 18-year and six-month prison sentence originally imposed by the Kulhudhuffushi Magistrate Court.