Initiated investigation of controlling work legality and regularity of the authorities in the case of arresting a man suspected of sexually abusing a girl
Regarding the information that the police arrested a man on suspicion of sexually abusing his underage stepdaughter, the Protector of Citizens initiated own-initiative investigation of controlling work legality and regularity of the Social Welfare Center "Solidarity" from Kragujevac, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Culture and Information.
The Protector of Citizens requested the Social Welfare Center to notify him whether the girl's family or the stepfather's family were on the records of the Social Welfare Center in Kragujevac, whether the Center was aware of any form of violence in these families or whether a report was filed, as well as to inform him about the activities undertaken by the Center after learning about the event in order to provide the necessary help and support to the girl - victim of violence.
The Ministry of Interior is to inform the Protector of Citizens about the activities undertaken by the Serbian Ministry of Interior in this particular case, as well as any previous reports of domestic violence filed by the girl’s or stepfather’s family, given that, that, according to the information published by some media, it is known that the stepfather was also violent towards the children from the previous marriage.
As there is a possibility that some media outlets have violated the rights and interests of the child with their reporting, especially the right to privacy, the Protector of Citizens addressed the Ministry of Culture and Information in order to ascertain whether the media coverage was in accordance with the Law.