'Serial sexual abuser' on trial in southern Turkey

A married man in southern Turkey, who is accused of sexually abusing a series of victims including a 16-year-old girl and a 22-year-old man, has claimed that he was trying to heal his son's vitiligo, a chronic skin disease.

39-year-old suspect in the southern Turkish province of Antalya, identified by Do?an News Agency as mineral oil salesman Oktay D., was taken to the 6th Heavy Penal Court on May 27 for the first hearing of the trial.

According to the indictment, Oktay D. committed the crimes of rape, usurpation and holding someone at a ransom during and after the New Year's Eve party that he hosted at his home. 

Oktay D. took 22-year-old G.Ö. to his car, when he spotted the hitchhiking young man on the highway between Antalya and the Aegean province of Burdur late December 2014. The two men agreed to bring two prostitutes to the upcoming New Year's Eve party that they planned together in the car, the indictment said.

The suspect, who had sent his wife and two children to their village before the party at his city house, lost his temper when he disliked the prostitutes brought by the young man. He raped the university student at gunpoint, while sexually abusing another male friend of him, according to prosecutors.

G.Ö., threatened by Oktay D. who demanded him to find other women the following day, brought a 16-year-old female friend to the suspect's house by duping her to believe that the invitation was for an audition for a theatre play. Oktay D. raped the girl, too, and the series of sexual abuses could only be exposed when the latest victim's mother went to the police.

The suspect pleaded not guilty in the May 27 hearing, stressing that his 16-year-old son was also present at the house during the party. "My...