Teacher jailed for abusing student

Manama

A public school teacher accused of sexually assaulting one of his students has been jailed for five years.  

The defendant, an Arab citizen, abused the 12-year-old boy during school hours, according to court files. It's said that the defendant would ask the victim to visit him in the staff room during the recess in order to sexually abuse him. "Every time he sees me he would tell me to come to the teachers room during the recess. When I go there he would ask me to kiss him, but I refused," the victim said in his statement. 

 "Once he came to my classroom during class hours and requested the teacher to send me out of the class with another student under the pretext that he needed us to do something relevant to the school with him. He then whispered to my friend and the latter went back to the class, while he took me with him to the office,” the boy said. "He groped me but I pushed him away and screamed. He told me not to tell this to my parents." 

 The victim told another teacher about it, before telling his father who filed a complaint at police station. 

The 12-year-old's lawyer earlier pleaded for the court to slap the defendant with the highest punishment in accordance with the penal code.

 She claimed that the defendant's crime had inflicted serious mental damages on the victim. "His parents are in their fifties, and the victim is the only child for them," the lawyer said before the High Criminal Court. 

 "His confidence has become shaky, let alone he is now a subject to mockery from his schoolmates. Therefore I request the court to give the defendant the highest punishment," she added. 

 The High Criminal Court ordered for the defendant to be deported after he completes his jail term.