PARAMARIBO, Suriname (CMC) – Police in Suriname have charged a 38-year-old mother with human trafficking and matchmaking after she allegedly forced her 15-year-old daughter into having sexual relations with men.

Police said that they have also arrested a 34-year-old civil servant after the teenager identified him as one of the customers with whom she had sex for payment.

The police said that the case was transferred by the Kwatta agency to the Youth Affairs department, which determined that this involved human trafficking, after which it was called into the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) department.

The TIP said that its investigations further revealed that the victim was sexually abused from the age of 13 by a stepbrother against whom no charges were ever filed.

“Furthermore, in 2023, the mother took the victim to various nightclubs in the Nickerie district, where, on the woman’s instructions, she had to go with customers to have sex with them for payment. She then had to give the money immediately to her mother,” TIP added.

The authorities said that this case took place in the west of Suriname “and it cannot be ruled out that several suspects will be arrested,” adding that the investigation into this case is being continued by the TIP and Youth Affairs police.