A 25-year-old primary school teacher in Kratie province has been accused of sexually abusing five young female students, two of whom he allegedly raped on multiple occasions, officials said Tuesday.
The parents of two 8-year-old girls filed complaints with Kratie provincial police Friday accusing Ouk Sopy of sexually assaulting each child at least 10 times and raping each on several of those occasions, provincial police chief Choung Seang Hak said by telephone.
The suspect is at large, but Choung Seang Hak said he has sent the complaints to the court and that police are actively pursuing Ouk Sopy.
“No matter where he is, we will find him,” he said. “His acts are cruel.”
However, Provincial Prosecutor Mak Tany said Tuesday he had not received the complaints from the victims’ families yet, which would mean that no arrest warrant has been issued.
Tim Narin, provincial coordinator for local rights group Adhoc, said the teacher’s five victims were between 8 and 10 years old. One of the 8-year-old girls was allegedly raped by the teacher in the school’s toilet, Tim Narin said.
“Police said that the teacher just touched the body” of three victims, “but did not rape them,” Tim Narin said, adding that such abuse was also a crime.
The 35-year-old father of one of the victims said by telephone Monday that he noticed his daughter was bleeding after she came home from school June 19 and subsequently learned that she had been attacked by the teacher 12 times.
“Most of the acts happened in the school’s toilet. He pretended to ask my daughter to clean the toilet, and then he would go inside and close the door,” he said.
“I may stop her from studying,” he added.
The 35-year-old’s younger brother is the father of the other 8-year-old rape victim, and he said that his daughter was abused 10 times.
“The cruel teacher threatened my daughter not to tell anyone or she would be beheaded,” he said.
