A 5-year-old girl at a state-run kindergarten in Namangan province is reportedly said to have been repeatedly sexually assaulted by the facility's 52-year-old head of household operations. The suspect has been detained and placed in pretrial custody.
According to relatives of the girl, the child was allegedly subjected to sexual abuse on multiple occasions by the head of household operations on the kindergarten premises. The 5-year-old has undergone a forensic examination and a gynecological exam.
The director said she had been on leave from July 20 to September 10 and, upon returning to work on September 11, was questioned by police about the case; she said she could not disclose further details. The girl's teacher said she never leaves the children in her group unsupervised for even a moment and maintained that no incident of sexual abuse had occurred on the kindergarten grounds.
The suspect, 52, served as deputy head for household operations and had worked at the kindergarten since 2022. No complaints had previously been filed against him by residents or staff. He is married with children and grandchildren. He had previously worked as a facilities manager at the same kindergarten under a different director, then worked as a farmer, and later spent six years unemployed at home after his health declined, having suffered two strokes. He returned to work at the kindergarten after recovering.
"The girl's teacher never left the children alone — we have signed statements, written explanations and guarantee letters from all the staff. A child has never been left alone, not once. I'm hoping this incident did not happen at the kindergarten. I don't know anything yet — I don't have the forensic findings or any other information. I heard about what happened from police," the kindergarten director said.
The girl's teacher likewise said she never left the children unsupervised for even a moment and that she, too, learned of the incident from police.
According to the Children's Ombudsman, the Police Investigation Department has opened a criminal case over the alleged sexual assault of the girl. The suspect was detained under criminal procedure and ordered held in pretrial detention.
A preliminary investigation into the criminal case is currently underway. The Children's Ombudsman's office says it is monitoring the case within its authority to ensure the legal interests of the child victim are protected.
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