A social worker in Ho Chi Minh City has been apprehended for allegedly molesting multiple young girls under his care while working at a local social support center.
Police in Binh Thanh District on Sunday arrested Nguyen Tien Dung, a records employee at the city’s social support center, which is managed by the municipal Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.
Dung had previously been suspended from work after he was accused of molesting young girls at the center.
At the police station, Dung has admitted to sexually abusing four girls aged between 13 and 15 during their stay at the social support center.
Officers have been collecting statements from the victims and eyewitnesses to assist the investigation.
Competent authorities were made aware of the case when they received a letter from two of the victims accusing Dung of molestation.
Officers launched a probe into the accusation and discovered that the social worker had sexually abused K.D., 13, K. A., 14, K.N., 14, and K.T., 15.
Dung was also found to have been grooming B.N., 12, for molestation.
Two other children, B.N., 10, and N.T., 8, were eyewitnesses to his alleged crime.
Nguyen Tien Dung, an employee at the records department of Ho Chi Minh City’s social support center. Photo: Tuoi Tre Contributor
According to K.D. and K.A.’s statements, the two girls, along with K.T., were homeless children who lived at a park in District 1 before local police brought them to the social support center on September 2.
The girls stayed in two rooms along with some other girls between eight and 15 years old at the facility.
During their stay there, Dung often came to their rooms at night, between 9:00 pm and 11:00 pm, asked them to strip naked, and touched their breasts and genitals.
Dung sometimes stood outside the rooms and molested the young girls through the windows.
After the acts, the social worker would give the girls cigarettes and soda, and cooked instant noodle for them.
He would also promise to help them find an adoptive family and send them to school soon.
Among the victims, 14-year-old K.N. is believed to have been most often molested by Dung.
Psychologists have also diagnosed N. with sex addiction as a result of Dung’s molestation.
The municipal People’s Committee has ordered the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to work closely with police officers and relevant agencies to investigate the case and impose stern punishment upon the suspected offender.
Source: Tuoitre