Mother Charged with Human Trafficking and Matchmaking in Suriname: Arrests Made in Disturbing Case
December 26, 2023
Paramaribo, Suriname – Authorities charge mother with human trafficking and matchmaking for forcing 15-year-old daughter into sexual relations with men. Investigation ongoing.
Paramaribo, Suriname – Police have charged a 38-year-old mother with human trafficking and matchmaking after she is alleged to have forced her 15-year-old daughter into having sexual relations with men.
Police said that they have also arrested a 34-year-old civil servant, after the teenager identified him as one of the customers with whom she had sex for payment.
The police said that the case was transferred by the Kwatta agency to the Youth Affairs department, which determined that this involved human trafficking, after which it called in the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) department.
The TIP said that its investigations further revealed that the victim was sexually abused from the age of 13 by a stepbrother against whom no charges were ever filed.
“Furthermore, in 2023, the mother took the victim to various nightclubs in the Nickerie district, where, on the woman’s instructions, she had to go with customers to have sex with them for payment. She then had to give the money immediately to her mother.”
The authorities said that this case took place in the west of Suriname “and it cannot be ruled out that several suspects will be arrested,” adding that the investigation into this case is being continued by the TIP and Youth Affairs police. (CMC)