Sexual offender who raped a six-year-old girl to be surgically castrated

A child sexual offender is to be forced to undergo surgical castration in Madagascar (file photo) (Picture: Shutterstock / Gumpanat)

A child rapist has been sentenced to surgical castration after being convicted of assaulting and attempting to murder a six-year-old girl.

The man’s sentence was handed out by the Madagascar court of appeal after he attacked the child in Imerintsiatosika,around 30km from the island’s capital,Antananarivo.

Chemical castration,which uses drugs to block hormones and decrease sexual desire,is generally reversible by stopping the drugs.

Surgical castration is irreversible.

Madagascar introduced legislation in 2024 sanctioning the procedure for people found guilty of raping children aged under 10.

Attorney general Didier Razafindralambo said,in addition to the surgery,the convict had also been handed a life imprisonment with hard labour.

He said: ‘Today’s decision is a strong and significant response from the justice system,intended also to serve as a warning to anyone with similar malicious intentions.’

Other countries have carried out surgical castration of rapists with the approval of the defendant,including Germany and Czechia.

Louisiana recently became the first US State to permit judges to order surgical castration of sexual offenders,MailOnline reported.

Some nations,including Russia,Poland and South Korea,use chemical castration,usually carried by the regular administration of drugs,as a preventative measure.

Britain is considering introducing the chemical procedure.

In May,Defence Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced the extension of a pilot scheme to 20 UK prison.

The rollout started across two regions in south west England.

However human rights groups have expressed concerns around the ethics of the practice,calling for efforts to be focused on supporting survivors of abuse and encouraging them to come forward.