A 16-year-old boy in Turkey has been sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison for kissing his 13-year-old girlfriend after teachers found his schoolmates sharing video of the event.
A court in southern Antalya province on Friday found the boy guilty of sexual abuse under a law that forbids sexual conduct with children younger than 15. Video filmed by a schoolmate showing the boy hugging and kissing the girl in the schoolyard was used as evidence.
Five other children — all school friends ages 13-16, including one who filmed the episode and others who shared it — were charged with using children to produce obscene images and spreading them. They were all acquitted.
Zuhal Merve Ozfidan, the 16-year-old boy’s lawyer, said she would appeal the verdict, and declined to share the details of the case as it involves minors. The boy remains at liberty pending appeal.
An expert report presented to the court had recommended that there was no need for punishment because of the boy’s age, said Sevcan Aydin Uzun, a lawyer for one of the acquitted children.
“I am surprised the course of events reached this point,” Aydin said. “If the verdict is upheld, he would go to jail for 4 1/2 years. He would have a criminal record, cannot be a public officer, lawyer, prosecutor, etc. Should it be that heavy? It is debatable.”
The daily newspaper Hurriyet reported that the boy and girl had met up in the schoolyard and hugged and kissed.
A teacher who found the other children sharing the video referred the case to the school police, who brought it before prosecutors. School police are a relatively new introduction in Turkey, instituted for reasons of child protection, in particular to tackle drug dealing and manage school bus traffic.
A series of instances of child abuse in recent years, including a case of children abused in the dormitories of a religious foundation, have caused a growing public uproar, prompting calls for tougher sentencing.
