Adi Marsiela, Bandung – Bandung City Police have arrested a male teacher from an Islamic school in Pangalengan, Bandung regency, West Java, for alleged sexual abuse.
The man, identified only by his initials SS, was arrested in Tasikmalaya, West Java, for allegedly abusing at least 12 victims aged 10 and 11, police said.
Bandung Police chief Sr. Comr. Kusworo Wibowo said the arrest was made following a report by one of the victims in early March
"The alleged crimes had been ongoing since 2017," Kusworo said on Monday, adding that the number of victims may increase. "We're calling on people to submit reports if they are victims."
He said the police were preparing psychological support and guidance for the victims.
The suspect was arrested under the Child Protection Law, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment.
Earlier this month, Bandung High Court sentenced Herry Wirawan, a pesantren (Islamic boarding school) teacher from Bandung to death for the rape of more than a dozen students in a case that shed light on sexual abuse in the country's religious boarding schools.
The court handed down its verdict after prosecutors filed an appeal against a lower court's sentence of life imprisonment for Herry.
The teacher had been found guilty of raping 13 female students, all of whom were minors at the time, and impregnating at least eight of them.