Headteacher In Indonesia Sentenced To Death For Sexually Assaulting 13 Girls

An Islamic school headteacher is reported to have sexually abused 13 minor female students in the last five years from 2016 to 2021; nine of these girls gave birth and the High Court has ordered the “confiscation of the principal’s property and distribute the sum to children who gave birth to children following rape by the principal”. The victims are all students aged 11 to 14 and it has been revealed these children were abused at school, hotels, and rented flats in West Java. Read on for further information on this case.

Herry Wirawan had been convicted in February 2022 at the Bandung District Court and was sentenced to life in prison. He was accused of raping and sexually assaulting 13 females between the ages of 11 and 14 from 2016 to 2021; these incidents took place at the school, hotels, and rented flat in West Java city. As a result, nine victims gave birth after the heinous crime.

This case caused public outrage and the police revealed that the victims were too scared to tell anyone about these incidents. The judges at the Bandung District Court agreed in their ruling with the “prosecutors’ appeal for the death penalty and for Herry Wirawan’s assets to be seized”.

The lower court, instead of seizing Herry Wirawan’s assets, had “ordered Indonesia’s child protection ministry to pay compensation requested by the victims and for medical and psychological treatment for each girl”. However, the high court ruled for the accuser’s assets to be seized, “including a foundation he owned, and auctioned to benefit the victims and their children”.

The ruling was released by the court on its official website today on the 5^th of April. It said: “What he had done had caused trauma and suffering to the victims and their parents. The defendant had tarnished the reputation of Islamic boarding schools.”

Furthermore, the judges also ruled that the nine newborns of the victims’ should be handed to the Children and Women Protection Agency with periodic evaluation “until the victims are mentally ready to care for their children, and the situation allows for their children to be returned to the victims”.

This investigation initially began last year in May when a victim returned from holiday and had given birth followed by the parents of the victim going to the police to report this. Herry Wirawan was arrested and the case started being investigated right away.