Denpasar, Bali – A French man has been sentenced to eight years in jail for molesting a young boy in Bali, prosecutors on the Indonesian holiday island said Thursday.
Emmanuel Maillet, 53, was handed the prison term on Tuesday in a closed-door court hearing held online due to virus restrictions, according to prosecutor Bagus Putra Gede Agung. The sentence, handed down by the Denpasar District Court, was made public on Thursday.
Maillet's jail term is less than the 12 years that prosecutors had demanded for sex offences against a 10-year-old local boy last year, Agung added. "We are still discussing whether to appeal the sentence," he told AFP.
Medical tests carried out after the incidents confirmed the boy was sexually assaulted, Agung said.
Maillet's lawyer said his client would also consider appealing the sentence, which included a fine of 100 million rupiah ($6,800) or an extra three months in jail.
The Frenchman denied the claims he molested the child or threatened him to coerce the victim not to tell anyone about the incidents.
Last year, another French man detained in Indonesia on suspicion of molesting hundreds of children committed suicide in his cell.
He had faced life in prison, chemical castration or execution by firing squad if convicted on a raft of charges under Indonesia's child protection laws.