A string of sexual assault incidents involving six children has been uncovered at an overnight care facility in New Taipei, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) New Taipei City Councilor Cheng Yu-en (鄭宇恩) said today at a media conference.
Cheng said she initially launched an investigation at the request of the mother of one of the victims, a young boy known as K, who accused a child known as H of sexual assault in the dormitory, before discovering that there were other victims.
K reported the incident to a counselor at the organization in mid-June and the New Taipei City Government’s Social Welfare Department was informed, she said.
Photo: Huang Tzu-yang, Taipei Times
Boy H was then moved to a different dormitory, where he began to abuse his roommate, another young boy known as Y at the end of June, she added.
An investigation has found two other children, known as C and J, were also abused on separate occasions, while another child, known as L, has also been accused of sexual assault, she said.
K’s mother was told that K has given a statement to the police, she said, adding that K and H were accusing each other of sexual assault.
According to official procedure, whether the assault happened at the organization or outside of it, the incident must be reported to the police via the Center for Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Cheng said.
However, of the six children involved, only boy H’s school had reported to the New Taipei City Police Department, according to police records, she said, and questioned whether the New Taipei City Government’s Social Welfare Department had failed in its duty to properly report incidents.
The department said that the incident was reported by staff at the organization and an investigation and counseling process is ongoing, adding that the organization has been temporarily suspended from accepting new students.
Those students involved have been transferred to separate private living spaces and room checks have been made more frequent, it said, while for serious cases, joint counseling meetings have been held involving schools, social workers and psychologists.
Treatment would be provided based on professional evaluations and experts have been assigned to offer support, it added.
The organization is to also begin self-protection training for newly admitted students to help the children understand boundaries and develop an awareness of sexual abuse, it said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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