Philipsburg:--- The father of a 17 year old girl remains in pre-trial detention for sexually abusing his underage daughter for long period of time. The father who has been identified as G.H. had his third pre-trial detention extended on Monday for another eight days. Chief Prosecutor Hans Mos confirmed to SMN News that police arrested the father after a complaint was filed against him. Mos said the Prosecutor got a third extension on Monday and they are looking at having the suspect in custody for a longer period when he re-appears before the Judge of Instruction on Monday next week. Mos said based on the statements of the victim and other persons, the father sexually molested his daughter for a period of time. He said the incidents occurred prior to 2010 and only now the case surfaced.
Police also arrested the victim's aunt who is an employee of a well-known bank on St. Maarten for physically abusing the child. The aunt spent 18 days in pretrial detention and was released by the judge of instruction on Wednesday. Mos said that the judge believes that the woman spent enough time behind bars for the physical abuse she committed against the teenager at the time. Mos said based on the judge's conclusion, the prosecution will not appeal the release of the aunt that was ordered by the Judge of Instruction. "You have to understand that these offenses took place a long time ago and while the victim was questioned, the prosecution has no physical evidence. I am not saying the victim's statement is not credible but if we had physical evidence such as marks of violence the case would have been much stronger."