The Taipei District Court yesterday sentenced a man to 28 years in prison for sexually assaulting six children at a private preschool in Taipei.
Mao Chun-shen (毛畯珅), 30, was convicted on 11 counts of sexual assault by penetration against six girls, 207 counts of indecent assault and six counts of filming obscene images.
The court said the cumulative sentences for the 224 criminal counts total 1,252 years and six months.
Photo: CNA
Mao is to serve a prison term of 28 years, it ruled.
The ruling is subject to an appeal.
Mao was arrested in July last year on suspicion of sexually assaulting children at the Taipei Piramide School, which was owned by his mother.
He was indicted by prosecutors in August last year after being investigated multiple times for sexual assault against minors by the authorities.
The first complaints against Mao were filed in June 2022.
The assaults against the six minors took place from 2022 to last year.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office charged Mao with aggravated sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault, among other crimes.
In its ruling yesterday, the court noted that Mao was born to a financially sound family and was well-educated.
He specialized in childcare and had a solid knowledge of the importance of preschool children’s mental and physical development, it said.
However, Mao just did the opposite by sexually abusing six girls under the age of seven who were unable to protect themselves, purely to satisfy his sexual desires, the court said.
The abuse lasted for a year and caused severe damage to the victims, it said.
The court summoned the victims, their parents, other preschool teachers and a psychologist, watched surveillance footage, and went through the victims’ medical records and counseling reports related to the assaults, the ruling said.
Despite Mao denying some of the allegations, the court said it determined he committed serious crimes.
The Taipei City Government has been accused of failing to effectively handle the case, prompting Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) to deliver an apology on July 17 to the children and their parents, and promise 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.
Certain city education officials have also been penalized, including Teng Chin-chuan (鄧進權), then-deputy head of the Department of Education.
The city government added that the case has been sent to the Control Yuan for further investigation.
It said it has “zero tolerance for any child abuse” and staff must do their utmost to protect the rights and welfare of minors.
Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who was the mayor of Taipei from 2014 to 2022, said there is room for the government to improve.
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