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Agence France-Presse

An Indonesian teacher found guilty of raping 13 students at an Islamic boarding school, and who impregnated at least eight of the victims, was sentenced to death on Monday.
Herry Wirawan, 36, had been sentenced to life in prison in February, in a case that drew national attention to sexual abuse in the country’s religious schools.
But prosecutors, who had requested the death penalty and chemical castration, filed an appeal.
“We accept the appeal of the prosecutors,” read the judge’s statement, published Monday on the website of the High Court in Bandung, West Java province. “We hereby punish the defendant to a death sentence.”
Sex crimes at Islamic schools under spotlight as Indonesia mulls tougher laws
Herry was not in court for the appeal, a spokesperson said.
Indonesia has held off conducting executions for several years and the last known executions took place in 2016.
Herry’s pattern of abuse at the school, also in Bandung, came to light when the family of a female student reported him to police for raping and impregnating their teenage daughter last year.
During his previous trial, it was revealed Herry had raped the female students – many from poor families and attending the school on scholarships – over a period of five years. He also impregnated at least eight of them.
Before the lower court, the defendant asked the judge for leniency, saying he wanted to be around to raise his children.
Woman’s suicide after alleged rape enrages Indonesia, fuels call for justice
A relative of one of the victims said that Monday’s sentence brought justice for the victims.
“We initially wanted punishments of life in prison and chemical castration so that he would feel the pain from his crime,” said Hidmat Dijaya, uncle of one of the victims. “But we still feel the death sentence represents justice.”
The case drew national outrage and increased pressure on parliament to approve a long-delayed bill on the “elimination of sexual violence”, that seeks to combat sex crimes and provide justice to victims, including in cases of marital rape.
The Bandung rape case has also shone a spotlight on the problem of sexual abuse in the Indonesian education system, with 14 out of the 18 cases reported to the Child Protection Commission last year taking place in Islamic boarding schools.
The country has more than 25,000 Islamic boarding schools, with nearly five million students living and studying in their dorms.


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Indonesia

Indonesian religious teacher sentenced to death for raping 13 students

Indonesian teacher Herry Wirawan impregnated at least eight students. File photo: AFP 

Indonesian paedophile Herry Wirawan’s life term, rather than castration, a ‘warning’ to predators

Indonesian teacher Herry Wirawan is escorted to his trial at a court in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Photo: AFP

Ranto Sibarani speaks to the media about the Benyamin Sitepu sexual abuse case in Indonesia. Photo: Aisyah Llewellyn

Parents rally in front of the Galilea Hosana School in Medan, where the sexual predator Benyamin Sitepu had operated. Photo: Aisyah Llewellyn

Sex crimes at Islamic schools under spotlight as Indonesia mulls tougher laws

In Indonesia, one in three women are victims of sexual violence. Photo: Reuters

Indonesian students at a classroom in Palembang, South Sumatra. Photo: AFP 

Children seen at a kindergarten in Jakarta. Photo: AP

Students at a school in Kediri, East Java province. Photo: Antara Foto via Reuters

Indonesian woman’s death after alleged rape and abortion fuels calls for tough laws against sexual violence, police reform

Novia Widyasari, 23, was found dead next to her father’s grave on Thursday after apparently poisoning herself. Photo: Twitter

Police officers are seen in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo: AP

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Herry Wirawan had earlier been sentenced to life in prison, in a case that drew national attention to sexual abuse in religious schools
But prosecutors, who had requested the death penalty and chemical castration, filed an appeal



Herry Wirawan had been sentenced to life in prison, but prosecutors, who had requested the death penalty and chemical castration, filed an appeal.
