The president of the Maldives has called for leniency in the case of a 15-year-old alleged rape victim who could be publicly whipped for the crime of 'fornication' with another man.

Amnesty International says there is strong reason to believe the girl was repeatedly raped by her stepfather for years, eventually giving birth to a baby, which was found buried on the family's property.

Police have charged the stepfather and mother.

But a police source told AFP that authorities had also unearthed evidence of the girl having consensual pre-marital sex with another man, which is an offence under sharia law in the Maldives and punishable by 100 lashes in public.

The local Haveeru newspaper quoted an unnamed official from the prosecutor's office saying that the fornication charge was unrelated to the rape, which had been separately dealt with.

If convicted, the girl would be held under house arrest until she's 18, at which time she would be publicly flogged.

The president's spokesman has called for leniency, but Amnesty International researcher Abbas Faiz says the charges should never have been laid.

"She should actually be the person who received the support rather than being punished," he said.

If convicted, the girl would be held under house arrest until she is 18, at which time she would be publicly flogged.

Editor's Note (24/01/2013): This story was updated to make it clear the potential flogging punishment related to a separate incident from the rapes.

ABC/AFP