The High Court yesterday convicted serial sex offender Mao Chun-shen (毛畯珅) on 544 counts of rape, sexual abuse and exploitation of minors, bringing his cumulative prison sentence to 2,878 years and four months.
The ruling can be appealed.
Mao recorded sexual acts involving 41 children younger than seven on 232 occasions, including two attempted offenses, the court said.
Photo: Taipei Times
It also convicted him of 191 counts of sexual harassment of minors younger than 14, 85 counts of producing sexual images of minors and unlawful possession of child sexual abuse material between September 2021 and July 2023.
Mao downloaded numerous sexually explicit images of adolescents and minors, and photographed adolescents with their consent beginning in 2023, the ruling said.
Mao was previously convicted of filming, sexually harassing and abusing six minors in 224 incidents, and sentenced to 28 years and eight months in prison.
In December last year, he was separately convicted of 510 counts of sexual abuse, sexual harassment and illegally filming minors, receiving another 30-year prison term and a NT$500 million (US$15.69 million) fine.
Prosecutors appealed the earlier ruling, saying that the sentences were disproportionate to the crimes and that many acquittals were inconsistent with the evidence.
Convictions that neither prosecutors nor Mao appealed — 420 counts carrying combined prison terms exceeding 1,000 years — remain in force.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is expected to ask the Taipei District Court to consolidate all of Mao’s sentences, which would result in him serving the maximum enforceable prison sentence of 30 years.
That would be longer than the 29 years and 10 months handed to Justin Lee (李宗瑞) in 2017 for sexually assaulting nine women between 2009 and 2011.
The court said Mao exploited the trust and advantages afforded by his family background, upbringing and education to prey on young girls for his own sexual gratification, causing severe harm to the victims and their families over two years.
He continued to commit crimes while under investigation and showed no remorse during questioning or trial, warranting the severe sentence, it added.
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