China News Service, Langfang, January 20 (Song Mintao) -- On January 20, the People's Procuratorate of Wen'an County in Hebei Province confirmed that Li Shiyuan, a 76-year-old villager of Wensin Village, had been prosecuted for allegedly raping three girls aged 7 to 12 multiple times. The families of the victims questioned why the suspect was "at large" from the time the police started their investigation until the court hearing.
The local police revealed that the three victims, whose names have been changed to Xiaoli, Xiaocui, and Xiaodan, were 7, 10, and 12 years old respectively and were all students at Wensin Primary School in Wen'an County. The suspect, Li Shiyuan, ran a bookstore in the village. Since his daughter and son-in-law were teachers at the primary school, the students often went to his bookstore to buy or read books. Taking advantage of the children coming to his store, Li Shiyuan was suspected of raping several young girls multiple times.
"Last November, everyone in the village knew about it. They said our daughter was abused by the old man in the bookstore. Several boys from the same village witnessed it," said Xiaocui's father, Li Liming. He added that if the kids hadn't quarreled and brought up the matter, the parents would not have known about it.
"After repeatedly questioning the child, we learned that the last incident happened in early November 2010," Li Liming said. His child told him that the old man took off their clothes, inserted something into their private parts, and afterward gave them a few yuan each while threatening them not to tell their parents or they would be beaten to death, and if they told their teacher, they would be expelled.
Xiaoli is the youngest among the three victims. According to her mother, she was only six years old when the incident occurred and didn't fully understand what happened to her. Afterward, she just felt scared and cried a lot. "Carrying this kind of shadow, I don't know how she will face the future," her mother said.
Xiaodan's father, Li Zhenguo, said, "The old man's son suggested that we three families go to a big restaurant in the city for a meal, and he would give each family a red envelope of 1000 yuan. He said the children are still young, and making a big deal out of it would be bad for everyone." Li Zhenguo stated that after the incident, Li Shiyuan's son tried to settle the matter privately, but the three victim families unanimously refused the offer and reported the case to the local police station on November 23, 2010.
The Public Security Bureau of Wen'an County basically confirmed the account provided by the families of the victims. "After a forensic examination, it was found that the vaginas of the three young victims were swollen and inflamed. Although their hymens were not broken, according to relevant laws, any contact between male and female reproductive organs can be considered as rape. Currently, the case has been handed over to the procuratorate for prosecution on charges of rape," said Wei Jian, deputy head of the Fourth Criminal Investigation Team of the Wen'an County Public Security Bureau.
What puzzled the families of the victims was: "After reporting the case, the police did come to investigate, but the old man was still freely moving in and out of his home without any police presence." Wei Jian explained that Li Shiyuan is now 76 years old and has been diagnosed with asthma, pulmonary heart disease, and emphysema, which makes him unsuitable for detention. Even if sent to a detention center, they wouldn't accept him. Currently, surveillance measures have been taken against Li Shiyuan. Surveillance methods can vary, and covert monitoring can also be used, so it's hard for ordinary people to distinguish.
In response, Xiaoli's father, Li Zhiqiang, pointed out, "We saw the old man at his son's house the day before we reported the case, and only after we reported it did the old man go to the hospital." It was learned from the Wen'an County Central Hospital that Li Shiyuan was indeed hospitalized three times from November 7 to December 5, 2010. One of these hospitalizations was from November 23 to 26, which coincided with the time the victims reported the case.
Currently, the case is still under further review. (End)