NAKHON SI THAMMARAT: A 83-year-old man was arrested in the southern province on Tuesday for allegedly raping a four-year-old girl in Muang district.
Police arrested Sonthi Charoenjit at his house on Soi Setthee 99 in tambon Khlang for allegedly raping the girl on Feb 2.
Police said the man confessed to the crime. He was a relative of the new husband of the girl's grandmother.
Earlier the girl's grandmother told police that early on Feb 2, Mr Sonthi offered to look after the girl for her. She initially rejected the offer because the girl was sick.
However, Mr Sonthi insisted and told her that he would buy medicines for the girl. The grandmother then let him take the girl, seeing he was an elderly man, according to police.
In the evening, Mr Sonthi brought the girl back and left immediately.
"The girl kept crying when reaching home and complained about pain in her sex organ. She kept her legs close. When I checked her out, I saw her sex organ was swollen and torn... A doctor later said she was sexually abused and she was admitted at a hospital for a week-long of treatment," said the grandmother.
The girl's family filed a complaint with local police on Feb 6. Police then gathered evidence and successfully sought a warrant for his arrest from the Nakhon Si Thammarat provincial court.
Police already had Mr Sonthi re-enact the crime.
