‘Zero tolerance’ for sex crimes against children as China executes serial child rapist
- Supreme People’s Court says judges must use all means available to punish those who sexually abuse minors
China’s highest court vowed to use all means, including the death penalty, to punish child sex offenders after a child rapist was executed for attacks on three young girls.
The Supreme People’s Court said sexual assault was a serious threat to the physical and mental health of children, and the judicial system should show zero tolerance for such crimes.
The court issued the statement after upholding a death sentence handed down to He Long, from Linyi in Shandong province.
He was executed on Wednesday morning for a series of crimes five years ago.
The court said he “adopted” an eight-year-old girl from Henan province in June 2014 and kept the child captive in his flat, repeatedly raping her and shooting videos of her that he posted on social media before she escaped.
Five months later, He kidnapped a mentally disabled 13-year-old girl, raping her and forcing her into prostitution, the court said. Then in December 2014, He abducted a 10-year-old on her way to school and raped her before she was rescued by police the next day.