More details have emerged from the grim case involving an alleged serial rapist who is also an Islamic boarding school (pesantren) teacher in Bandung, West Java, whose victims reportedly gave birth to nine babies, with two more on the way.
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As news of his crime gripped national headlines, the suspect’s full identity has been revealed as 36-year-old Herry Wiryawan. He stands accused of raping the victims, aged 16 to 17, on various occasions from 2016 at a number of boarding schools where he taught, including Madani Boarding School in Cibiru district.
Four of the victims became pregnant and gave birth to one child each, while one victim had even given birth twice. More recent reports highlighted that a total of nine babies were born from the rape victims, and two victims are currently pregnant.
According to reports, Madani is not authorized by the Ministry of Religious Affairs to operate. Tedi Ahmad Junaedi, who heads the ministry’s office in Bandung, said the school is not a formal school as it is more of a rumah tahfidz, a non-formal Islamic religion education institution specializing in Quran studies.
“There is no operational permit issued for the pesantren, but it’s a subsidiary of Pesantren Manarul Huda in Antapani district. So on its own, there’s no permit, [Madani] is a kind of a rumah tahfidz,” Tedi said today.
Herry, whose trial is ongoing, faces multiple charges under Indonesia’s Child Protection Law, including rape and violence against children. They carry a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.
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