Manama: A 13-year-old Bahraini is believed to have become the youngest father in Bahrain when the family’s domestic helper gave birth to his daughter. The domestic helper, a 32-year-old Indonesian, reportedly shared a room with the boy as the family did not have a private space for her, a situation that resulted in intimate relations between them, local daily Al Ayam reported.
According to Ebtisam Al Sabbagh, the boy’s lawyer, investigations launched by the public prosecution and the centre to protect children revealed that his level of consciousness was limited and that the helper took advantage of the fact they shared the room to start a physical relationship.
The lawyer added that the helper did not inform anyone when she became pregnant and that the family was shocked to discover her giving birth to a baby in the bathroom.
The helper who was taken to hospital initially said that she was the victim of sexual abuse and that the boy had raped her.
However, she later admitted that she had sex with the teen of her freewill and that he never took her clothes off by force or raped her as she had claimed, her lawyer Siham Slaibikh said.
The helper confessed that she and the boy continued to have sex even after she became pregnant.
According to the lawyer, the baby daughter had been taken to Dar Al Aman, a governmental social care institution that provides protection for women and their children.
The helper who is also housed at Dar Al Aman with her daughter is standing trial on charges of inciting an underage boy into deviant behaviour, Al Ayam reported.
The first session was held on Sunday, but the lawyer requested a postponement of the trial to the end of the month in order to gather further facts and evidence.
Social network users called for greater vigilance from parents to ensure their homes are not “polluted by unacceptable behaviour”.
A large number of the approximately 12,000 Indonesians who live in Bahrain work as domestic helpers.