Judge Elie Helou issued a verdict in the case of a teacher who was
accused of sexually abusing 11 children at St. Joseph School in Aintoura, Voice
of Lebanon radio (100.5) reported on Wednesday.
According to the radio station, Helou considered the case a
misdemeanor and not a felony and convicted Pierre Sh. from 6 to 10 years in
jail.
A felony is used in law to describe very serious crimes, while misdemeanors
are considered to be less serious offenses.
According to VDL, the Judge indicted Pierre according to articles
519, 520 and 523 of the penal code which tackle the molester of children. The
Judge dropped the rape charges for lack of evidence.
Al-Akhbar newspaper reported that the Judge based his verdict on
his conviction that Pierre didn’t rape the girls charging him of harassing them
and taking pictures of them while their clothes were on, contradicting the news
reports that said he photographed the girls naked.
The scandal erupted in June when reportedly a six-year-old girl at
St. Joseph School told her parents about the abuse.
She reportedly said the 22-year-old arts teacher had instructed
her “to lift her skirt before pressing himself up against her.”
Education Minister Hassan Diab stressed that child molesters at
schools in Lebanon would face severe consequences, while Social Affairs
Minister Wael Abou Faour said that the most severe punitive measures should be
imposed on the molester.
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http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/46218
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