Police in Malang regency, East Java on Friday arrested a 38-year-old vocational school (SMK) teacher who has been accused of molesting 18 of his students.
According to the police, the suspect, who is identified by his initials CH, molested the victims, all of whom are male and in grades 7 to 9, after calling them to the school’s counseling office.
“In one month, at least one to three students became his molestation victims,” Malang Regency Police Chief Yade Setiawan Ujung told reporters on Saturday, as quoted by Detik.
To the police, CH said he had a few tricks to keep his students quiet, one of which involved the Islamic holy book the Quran.
“The suspect told the victims not to tell anybody by making them swear on the Quran,” Yade said.
Police said that for some victims, CH said he needed to measure their genitals and collect sperm samples for his dissertation.
The alleged molestations reportedly occurred between August 2017 and October 2019. On Dec. 3, police received a formal complaint against CH, which led to his arrest on Friday.
CH has been charged with child molestation under Indonesia’s Child Protection Law, which could see him imprisoned for up to 20 years if convicted.
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