A teenaged orphan* was allegedly sexually assaulted by her relative after she refused to marry him.While the incident took place in May last year, it only came to light after the girl, unable to hide the resultant pregnancy, reported the matter to the police last month.The 17-year-old victim was allegedly intoxicated and raped for three to four days after she had refused the proposal from her aunt’s brother. The victim told police that last May, she was staying at her maternal uncle’s house Sector G-12 for a few days.During that stay, her aunt’s brother, NM*, asked her to marry him. But when she refused, NM* repeatedly raped her in the house over three to four days. She accused her aunt, SM*, of abetting her son by intoxicating her and locking the door to her room from the outside.The girl further accused NM of threatening to kill her younger brother if she told anyone about the assaults.However, the victim said, her uncle had no idea about the assaults. She said she eventually returned to her home, in another district, after a month.The assault left the victim pregnant, but she kept quiet until January this year, when — unable to hide her pregnancy — had to disclose the ordeal to her relatives.A few days later, the victim and her relatives lodged a complaint against NM and SM at the Ramna Police Station. The police arrested both suspects after doctors at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences confirmed that the victim was seven-months pregnant.A police officer told The Express Tribune that the suspect had confessed to sexually assaulting the victim several times. He added that a DNA test would be conducted after the child is born. If the child’s DNA matches the suspect’s DNA, the allegations would be confirmed. NM is currently in Adiala Jail on judicial remand.SM, who is accused of facilitating the crime, was arrested after her pre-arrest bail was turned down by a sessions judge. However, soon after her arrest, SM filed a fresh bail plea before Additional District and Sessions Judge Javed Iqbal Sipra, which was accepted on February 27 against a bail bond of Rs100,000.While granting the bail, Judge Sipra observed that there was an eight-month delay in reporting the incident to the police and that the explanation given by the complainant for the delay was not, in a tentative assessment, satisfactory.The judge also observed that there was no medical evidence on record to confirm that the complainant was intoxicated in addition to the absence of any statements from witnesses.A trial will begin once the police complete their investigations and submit their report to the court.*NAMES WITHHELD TO PROTECT IDENTITY