An Indonesian court on Tuesday sentenced a teacher to life in prison for the rape of 13 students, in a case that has drawn national attention to sexual abuse in some of the country’s religious boarding schools, IgbereTV reports.
Herry Wirawan, 36, was found guilty of raping 13 female students — all minors — and impregnating at least eight of them by Bandung district court in West Java.
The revelations sparked national outrage, with a senior government official saying President Joko Widodo has paid special attention to the case.
The pattern of abuse came to light when the family of a female student reported Wirawan to the police for raping and impregnating their teenage daughter last year.
During the trial, it was revealed he had raped the children — many from poor families attending the school on scholarships — over five years.
Prosecutors requested chemical castration and the death penalty for the accused, who asked the judge for leniency to allow him to raise his children.
Wirawan arrived in court in handcuffs and kept his head down as judge Yohannes Purnomo Suryo Adi sentenced him to life in prison.
The court said restitution for the victims will be paid by the government
