The Judiciary Police (PJ) said on Sunday that a 19-year-old unemployed man, surnamed Lam, was picked up for sexually molesting a 12-year-old boy who wore white socks.
After his detention, it emerged that the suspect suffers from a white sock fetish leading him to molest over 30 young boys.
A PJ spokesperson revealed details of the bizarre case at a special press conference.
The spokesperson said Lam sexually molested the 12-year-old boy last week. The boy’s mother reported the incident to the police on Wednesday after the boy told her about it.
According to the spokesperson, the victim met Lam near Rua de Sacadura Cabral after finishing extracurricular activities, adding that Lam told the boy he dropped something into the boy’s shoe.
The police stated last week that the case occurred in Estrada de Ferreira do Amaral.
The spokesperson said Lam told the boy he wanted to find something in his shoe as an excuse, then forced him to rub the suspect’s genitals for over a minute with his feet through his trousers.
When the suspect was sexually satisfied he said he had found what he had lost and ran away. According to the victim, Lam was aroused and had an erection, the spokesperson added.
According to the spokesperson, police detained Lam in Avenida do Almirante Lacerda on Saturday after going through CCTV footage. During questioning, Lam admitted he sexually assaulted over thirty boys, aged around 12 and 13, starting from last year. The spokesperson added that Lam appeared to have a sock fetish and a sexual fantasy involving young boys wearing white socks.
The spokesperson urged parents who were told that their children had been molested to report the matter to the police, since only three cases including the one of last year have been reported. The spokesperson said Lam would be transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) to face possible charges of aggravated sexual coercion since the victims are under 14 years old.
According to Article 158 of the Macau Penal Code, sexual coercion is punishable by between two and eight years’ imprisonment. Due to the aggravating circumstance that the suspects are younger than 14 his penalty his prison term may be increased by a third. (macaunews/macaupost)
