A man who raped 16 minor girls has been sentenced to death in east China, a case that triggered widespread public outrage in the country. The Intermediate People's Court of Wuhu City in Anhui province sentenced Wang Yong (40) to death and deprived him of his political rights for life, the state media reported on Thursday. The court also sentenced his accomplice, also a minor girl, to three years' imprisonment earlier in March, Xinhua news agency reported. He was arrested in last September on the charges of raping several school girls, aged from 12 to 16, starting from 2009. Unemployed Wang posed as a female on social networks to befriend schoolgirls, and coerced them to meet him. His victims were taken to hotels, where he raped them. Meanwhile, the defendant instigated a 16-year-old girl, who claimed to be coerced by Wang, to seek younger victims for him. After winning their trust, this girl brought them to the hotels. According to the court, Wang raped 16 minor girls 22 times, forcing them into the acts through threatening language and violence.
