Child molester arrested after fondling 3 girls

The Huangpu District People's Prosecutor's Office has signed off on the arrest of a 52-year-old convicted child molester for sexually abusing three girls under the age of 7, prosecutors said Monday.

The suspect, surnamed Dong, lived alone in the district. Around 6 pm on September 27, he ran into the girls while they were playing near Taoyuan New Village on Yunnan Road South, according to a press release from the prosecutor's office.

Two of the girls were 5-year-old twins. The other girl was 6 years old.

Dong lured the three girls back to his home with the promise of chocolate. When he got them into his house, he took them to his attic and fondled their private parts, said Wang Yonger, a district prosecutor.

When Dong was finished, he gave the girls some chocolate and told them not to tell anyone.

The father of the twins learned that his girls had been molested when he found them fighting over the chocolate. The twins told their father about the incident and the 6-year-old girl led police to Dong's home.

Dong confessed to the crime. He had been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for molesting children more than five years ago.

According to Chinese law, a person can be sentenced to up to five years in prison for molesting children, though the sentence can be heavier if the case is deemed serious.