Child sex offender arrested after confessing to vigilante group

A 19-year-old man who confessed to sexually abusing two young boys in the capital’s suburb Hulhumalé was arrested in the early hours of Sunday after he was forced to walk in his underwear by a vigilante group.

A video of the alleged pedophile being questioned and threatened by a group of men has been circulating on social media. He was reportedly stripped down to his boxers and forced to walk on the middle of the street after he confessed to molesting the boys over four days.

The man was taken to the police station after the vigilante action was reported around midnight. A warrant was later issued for his arrest on child sexual abuse charges.

“We have taken him into our custody and we are investigating the case now. We have seen the video on Twitter and will certainly look into it during investigations,” a police spokeswoman told the Maldives Independent.

It is unclear how the vigilantes identified the suspect before the police.

The abuse of the six-year-old and eight-year-old boys was reported to police around 1am on Friday. The victims were reportedly treated at the Hulhumalé hospital.

Some 22 cases of child sexual abuse were reported in April. Earlier this month, a nine-year-old girl was taken under state care after she was sexually abused by her 13-year-old and 16-year-old brothers.

Last week, a 71-year-old man was also arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing the underaged girl. He was reportedly the former lover of the girl’s mother.