A kindergarten teacher in Taiwan has been sentenced to 28 years in jail for more than 200 sexual offences against children, sparking widespread rage across the island.
The Taipei District Court judge described the man, identified as Mao, as committing “vicious” crimes that caused “severe physical and mental trauma” to six children, all under the age of seven.
The case has been a focal point of anger for weeks, with many criticizing the authorities for not suspending Mao after an initial report in 2022, potentially leading to more children becoming victims.
Mao was finally arrested in July 2023 after additional parents came forward with complaints against him. Lawmaker Lin Yueh-chin stated, “If the local government could have done a better job in 2022, there wouldn’t be the tragedy in 2023.”
Parents also expressed frustration over the lack of transparency during the investigation, claiming they were denied access to CCTV footage and investigation reports.
Mao was suspended and banned from teaching last year, and the kindergarten’s license was revoked. On Friday, he was convicted of various crimes, including rape and forcing children to take sexually explicit videos.
Further investigations are ongoing into additional allegations made by parents. Court documents revealed that Mao committed the crimes while working at a private kindergarten in Taipei, where he had been employed since September 2021.
The judge emphasized the severity of the crimes, stating, “The number of victims was large, the crime was vicious, the victims suffered severe physical and mental trauma, and the accused’s attitude after committing the crimes was awful.”
The public was shocked by the disturbing details exposed by the media earlier this year. The first complaint against Mao dates back to July 2022, but the case was initially dropped due to a lack of evidence. It wasn’t until a year later that more parents reported him to the police, leading to the discovery of over 600 private videos of children on Mao’s phone.
Taipei’s Mayor, Chiang Wan-an, issued an apology to the public in July in response to the case.
