Turkish sex offender who caused man's suicide sentenced to 26 years in jail

A sex offender named Vedat Tarhan was sentenced to 26 years in prison for sexually abusing a younger relative for years, leading to the latter's eventual suicide. Ahmet Emre Yıldır had reported the abuse to the prosecutor's office but had commit suicide as a result of law enforcement's inaction in 2019. Tarhan was detained two days later.

Tuesday November 17 2020 04:15 pm

Duvar English

A sexual predator named Vedat Tarhan was sentenced to 26 years in prison on Nov. 16 for years of sexually abusing a younger relative, starting from when the latter was nine and leading to the victim's eventual suicide.

Tarhan sexually assaulted Ahmet Emre Yıldır for nine years, and Yıldır reported the abuse when he was 25-years-old, even presenting a voice recording of the predator's confession to the prosecutor's office.

Following inaction toward the assailant, Yıldır reportedly felt like he had put himself in a vulnerable and shameful position by revealing the abuse, and eventually commit suicide on April 29, 2019.

"When is the sun going to come up?" Yıldır had asked his mother earlier on the day of his death, which his mother said was a reflection of his depression that resulted from law enforcement's inaction towards the assailant.

Tarhan was only detained by police two days after Yıldır's suicide, and was released during his first hearing of "sexual assault of a minor."

The assailant was detained later on in the trial and was finally sentenced to 26 years in prison for his crime.

"The sun came up for Emre today," his mother said in front of the courthouse on Nov. 16, more than a year after the victim of Tarhan's crimes died.

Attorney Merve Uçanok said that she hopes this case will be a hope for any child who has suffered or is suffering from sexual abuse.