NANG SENG NOM — The husband of a school headmaster in southern Shan State’s Mong Kung Township stands accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl who stayed in their home.

The abuse allegedly occurred in Khur Ohn Oui village, where the headmaster was teaching extra lessons to the 12-year-old girl in the evening as she recovered from an illness that caused her to miss school. The student stayed the night at the headmaster’s house on October 30, when the assault happened. The headmaster’s husband is accused of touching the girl’s breasts and covering her mouth to stifle her screams. She reported the abuse to her parents days after returning home.

Sai Lon, the parliamentarian for Mong Kung’s Constituency 2 is assisting the parents of the girl in opening a case against the man after an on-duty police officer refused to investigate or file charges against the accused.

“Her parents tried to open a case at the police station but the officer shouted at them very loudly. Then they came to see me on November 20. Now I am helping them to open a case,” parliamentarian Sai Lon told SHAN. “I will help parents of the child. I already told them to continue their case with courage.”

An activist who works on cases involving women’s and children’s rights told SHAN that the police refusal to open a case is a violation of the law, and that the accused could be charged with attempted rape.

“It is a rape case, because he tried to rape the child,” the activist said.

The number of reported rape cases—and cases of child sexual abuse in particular—have increased in Burma in recent years, with activists calling for a minimum 20-year prison sentence for being convicted of the act. Others have demanded the death penalty.