Teacher sentenced to 28 years in prison for sexual assault in kindergarten (Update)

Taipei, Aug. 16 (CNA) — A man accused last year of sexually abusing six children while working as a teacher at a private preschool in Taipei was sentenced to 28 years in prison by the Taipei District Court on Friday.

Mao Chun-shen (毛畯珅), 30, was found guilty of 11 counts of sexual assault by penetration against six girls under the age of 14, 207 counts of indecent touching of these girls and six counts of filming obscene images.

The court said the total sentences for the 224 charges amount to 1,252 years and 6 months. Mao will serve a prison sentence of 28 years, the court decided.

The judgment can be appealed.

Mao was arrested in July 2023 on suspicion of sexually assaulting children at the Taipei Piramide School (台北市私立培諾米達幼兒園), which belonged to his mother.

He was indicted by prosecutors in August 2023 after authorities investigated him on multiple occasions for sexual assault on minors. The first charges against Mao were filed in June 2022.

The attacks on the six minors took place between 2022 and 2023.

After an investigation, the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office charged Mao with aggravated sexual assault and aggravated sexual battery, as well as other crimes.

The court noted in its ruling on Friday that Mao was born into a financially well-off family and had a good education. He specialized in child care and had a sound knowledge of the importance of the mental and physical development of preschool children.

However, Mao did the opposite by sexually abusing six girls under the age of seven who could not protect themselves, just to satisfy his sexual desires, the court said.

The court added that the abuse lasted for a year and caused serious harm to the victims.

According to the ruling, the court summoned the victims, their parents, other preschool teachers and a psychologist, viewed relevant surveillance footage and reviewed the victims' medical records and counseling reports related to the assaults.

Although Mao denied some of the charges, the court concluded that he had committed serious crimes.

Meanwhile, the Taipei City Government has been accused of not handling the case effectively. In response, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) apologized to the children and their parents on July 17 and promised to improve the city's policies and procedures.

In response to the court ruling, the city government said Chiang had ordered a thorough investigation into the case. Some city education officials were also punished, including Teng Chin-chuan (鄧進權), then deputy head of the Ministry of Education.

In addition, the city government said the case had been forwarded to the Control Yuan, Taiwan's top regulatory agency, for further investigation.

The city administration stressed that there is “zero tolerance for child abuse” and that employees must do their utmost to protect the rights and well-being of minors.

Meanwhile, Taiwan People's Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who served as mayor of Taipei from 2014 to 2022, said there was still room for the government to improve.