Ari Susanto, Jakarta – Activists have filed a pretrial motion against Sukoharjo Police for the lack of progress in the allegations of child trafficking and sexual abuse against the king of Solo, Pakubuwono XIII.

"We have already sent a pretrial motion to Sukoharjo District Court and the first hearing will be held in a few weeks," Tedjo Kristanto, a lawyer representing the Indonesian Children and Women Protection Institute (Elpapi), told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday.

Tedjo said the pretrial motion was filed because Sukoharjo Police in Central Java did not make any progress in the investigation.

The police have said that they did not have grounds to interrogate Pakubowono XIII, who has been accused of raping a 16-year-old girl and fathering her child.

Police claimed that testimony from all witnesses questioned, except for the victim, did not provide sufficient evidence that a rape had occurred.

Without additional testimony, the allegations did not meet the threshold needed to launch criminal proceedings, Sukoharjo Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Andy Rifai said.

Tedjo said Elpapi feared the police would likely drop the case and a pretrial motion was needed to ensure the law was enforced.

The case was unveiled when a 10th-grade vocational high school student filed a report to the police that she had been trafficked and raped. The girl also reported the case to Elpapi and sought assistance from the group in July last year.

The girl said a woman with the initials W.T. offered to give her a job working for the king but instead "sold" her for Rp 2 million ($155).

W.T is currently being detained and has been named a suspect. However, Tedjo said, according to child protection law in an illegal prostitution, both trafficker and buyer must be charged.

Andi has denied Sukoharjo Police would drop the charges. He said the investigation was ongoing. "The case is under investigation, it is not closed," he said.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/pretrial-motion-filed-police-solo-king-rape-case/