Crime | Middle court sends pedophile sex offender to jail

The Court of Second Instance has denied a suspect’s appeal and jailed him immediately for the crime of sexual assault against minors.
In October last year, the accused indecently assaulted four girls, aged between seven and eight years, at a private tuition center. The man was working at the center as a part-time tutor.
The case was opened when the victims reported the incidents to the director of the center.
Although issuing an imprisonment ruling, the Court of First Instance offered probation with conditions to the accused. The Public Prosecutions Office appealed the ruling on the grounds that this was too light a sentence.
The middle court acknowledged that it was the offender’s first criminal violation, and that he cooperated when confessing his crimes. However, the court found that the crimes were repugnant to society, and thus considered judicial condemnation and probationary imprisonment not sufficient as punishment.
The second court therefore sentenced the accused to a year and a half of imprisonment.
In the first court’s ruling, the accused was also ordered to pay monetary compensation to the victims and undergo counseling. AL