Court acquits brother of incest, citing failure to prove teen knew it was wrong

A Hong Kong court has acquitted a 24-year-old man of charges of incest and indecent conduct towards a child. The man, LHCN, was accused of committing sexual offences against his younger sister between 2013 and 2016, when he was 11 to 14 years old and she was between seven and 10.

The High Court jury delivered a verdict at the direction of the presiding judge, who concluded that the charges could not be legally established. According to the South China Morning Post, prosecutors failed to prove that the defendant knew what he did as a teenager was seriously wrong.

The defendant admitted to engaging in sexual acts with his sister and expressed regret, but claimed he did not rape her. He also alleged that his elder brother had committed obscene acts against her. The sister eventually disclosed the incidents to a social worker, who informed her parents.

Brief written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post, South China Morning Post - Hong Kong — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.