Confirmation of the Child Abuser Supervisor's Sentence: Two Years of Exile and Education Ban

According to the head of the Criminal Courts of Tehran Province, the sentence of a supervisor accused of child abuse by the parents of several students has been confirmed. This individual was sentenced to two years of exile, a ban on education, and lashes. Mohsen Eftekhari, the head of the Criminal Courts of Tehran Province, announced on Saturday, June 6, that this school supervisor had previously been sentenced to two years of exile, two years of prohibition from cultural, educational, and sports activities, and 100 lashes. The court judge had stated in July of the previous year that 'this case is under investigation and currently, no comments can be made about its details.' In early June 2014, some news agencies and websites in Iran reported that a man had filed a complaint with the police against his child's school supervisor for 'sexual abuse.' This individual stated that 'for some time, his 11-year-old son's behavior had changed, and to understand the change in his child's behavior, he had spoken with his son several times until he revealed that he had faced sexual harassment by his school supervisor.' Following this incident, the parents of students aged 8 to 11 at the school where the accused worked gathered in front of the Ministry of Education, demanding action against the perpetrator. Subsequently, the Iranian Minister of Education also wrote a letter to the court, requesting the investigation of this case and action against the school supervisor. Despite denying the allegations, the supervisor was sentenced to exile, a ban on education, and lashes due to the existence of evidence and documentation. In this context, last August, the Secretary of the National Child Rights Authority in Iran and an advisor to the Minister of Justice mentioned that the supervisor's abuse sometimes involved the consent of the students and that there was a 'mutual attraction.' Mozafar Alvandi, the advisor, stated in an interview with the Iranian Labor News Agency, ILNA, that 'unfortunately, in any place where children are concentrated, the possibility of such incidents exists, and this is a global issue.' The school where the 32-year-old supervisor worked was located in the University Town in western Tehran, and investigations into the complaints indicated that the students were between 8 and 11 years old.