New details in minor’s sexual abuse case

More details emerged on Thursday about a police officer in Limassol, who was arrested along with his wife in connection with allegations of sexual abuse of a minor.

According to local media, a Limassol district judge on Thursday ordered a couple remanded in custody for four days after police prosecutors said they had statements from witnesses regarding an alleged abuse of a preschooler.

Reports said the alleged victim is a 4-year-old girl from the suspects' social circle. The couple, a 52-year-old male police officer and his wife, were said to have had the child in their care on occasions while her mother had to go to work.

According to local media, the child’s mother went to the police after her daughter reportedly confided in her about “certain things” that went on in the couple’s home.

Police were said to have been investigating the allegations for an undisclosed amount of time before law enforcement agents detained them on an arrest warrant on Wednesday. The Domestic Violence and Child Abuse unit was also involved in the investigation.

Both suspects have denied the sexual abuse allegations or any involvement in the case, with the sergeant going on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation on direct orders from the newly-appointed Police Chief Stylianos Papatheodorou.

Additional reports said the police sergeant had been suspended from duties in the past following an incident when he shot a foreign national. 

Back in March, police said they responded to a public disturbance incident in Apesia, a village in Limassol district, where they shot 39-year-old Iranian national Abolfazi Ziaei, who later went into cardiac arrest just before surgery and passed away.

Knews could not confirm whether both suspects in the abuse case were being suspected of the same offences. Some reports said the girl's mother left the child with the wife, while other reports said the mother of the alleged victim was an acquaintance from the husband's circle.