By
Van Meguerditchian
BEIRUT:
An elementary school teacher has resigned from his position at the Saint Joseph
Aintoura College after being accused of sexually abusing at least 10 children
over the past several months.
The
22-year-old arts teacher was hospitalized after he survived a car crash in
Keserouan over the weekend. Security sources told The Daily Star that the
Internal Security Forces had placed personnel at the hospital in Jounieh in
which the teacher was being treated for his injuries.
The
relatives of the girls have filed a lawsuit against the teacher and have asked
the Aintoura College administration to support them in the case. According to
judicial sources, the families became aware of the alleged acts of sexual abuse
after one of the children told her parents about an incident she witnessed in
class.
“The
ages of the girls range between 6 and 8 ... but recently a 6-year-old told her
father that the teacher had instructed her to pull her skirt up and press her
body against his,” said the source.
The
Daily Star tried to contact the Aintoura College but school officials were not
available for comment.
“The
panic among the children’s families led to a very tense situation at the
college, but officials at Aintoura have told the parents they would solve the
issue themselves,” the source added.
Social
Affairs Minister and head of the Higher Council of Childhood Wael Abu Faour has
also filed a lawsuit against the teacher.
After
filing the lawsuit, Abu Faour telephoned Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Claude Karam
to step up pressure on the issue.
Karam
said Sunday that judicial authorities have opened an investigation into the
matter but refused to elaborate on the incident. “There are many people
involved in this incident including children and their families ... to openly
talk about it at this point could harm the witnesses,” Karam told The Daily
Star.
According
to the security sources, the teacher allegedly asked the young students to
undress and took nude photographs of them.
Following
the emergence of the reports of alleged sexual abuse, the administration of
Saint Joseph Aintoura College asked the teacher to submit his resignation.
Investigations
are ongoing.
“Whoever
is responsible for such behavior and abuse will be punished by law,” Karam
added.
The
security source said the teacher had switched off his phone and deactivated all
his social networking accounts following the reports.
According
to the source, the car crash in which the teacher was involved over the weekend
had likely been a suicide attempt.
The
6-year-old girl also informed her father that the teacher had taken one of her
classmates to the bathroom and forced her to take off her clothes, the source
added.
Saint
Joseph Aintoura College is offering counseling sessions to students at the
school to deal with the stress of the situation.
Abu Faour has called
Education Minister Hasan Diab and Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi to schedule
a meeting at the Social Affairs Ministry Monday to discuss the case.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Jun-04/175595-teacher-accused-of-sexual-abuse-hospitalized.ashx#axzz1wo3ad9bB
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