Zegabi

An Eritrean migrant, claiming to be 15 years old, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old Swedish girl, whose family had agreed to shelter him.

The suspect Isak Andai was accepted into the Swedish family home located in Eslov as an ”unaccompanied refugee minor. ”  The family, who opened their home to help the government house new refugees, also accepted another Eritrean migrant boy, aged 17.

The Swedish family consists of a mother, two adult children, and their 10-year-old sibling.

Andai and the other Eritrean boy had reportedly been living in the house for weeks before the incident, which occurred in August 2015.

Court documents reveal that on the day of the incident, Andai and the 10-year-old had been playing in the living room. According to the girl, they sat on the sofa and took several photos on their smartphones.

Andai reportedly left the room, and the girl fell asleep on the couch shortly after. However, she woke up to find Andai “fondling her breasts” over her bra. He had reportedly pulled up her shirt.

Andai reportedly “jumped off” and fled the room as soon as the victim opened her eyes.

According to the 10-year-old, the incident was very unpleasant and painful. She claims to have felt pain in her breasts for several minutes after waking up.

Investigators found out that the girl was initially afraid of reporting the incident to her mother. The family reported the case to the police after learning of the incident from the mother of the girl’s friend, who she had confided in.

Andai was found guilty, although he denied the accusations during his trial at the Lund district court. The case also revealed that the culprit’s real age, which became a major issue in the trial.

When Andai arrived in Sweden, he claimed to have been born in 2000. However, he had no documents to prove his age. He claims his papers were lost en route to Europe.

Andai claimed to have started his education at 10 and remained in school for seven more years. He alleged that he left school two years before his arrival in Sweden.

According to the Swedish court, this makes him 19, and not 15-years-old. The revelation also makes him ineligible for the “unaccompanied minor”status.

Despite the findings, the court still chose to try Andai as a minor. He was found guilty of sexual assault and was sentenced to pat a fine of 5,000SEK ($616). The money will be given to the victim as damages. Andai was also sentenced to ten hours of therapy.

The culprit would not be extradited from the Scandinavian country.  However, it is unclear if he and the other Eritrean boy would still be allowed to live with the Eslov-based family.

Europe has been struggling to cope with the influx of asylum seekers from the Middle East and Africa. The situation is the biggest refugee crisis Europe has faced since the Second World War. More than one million migrants reportedly entered Europe in 2015.

Photo: SVEA/Exponerat