A Canadian teacher has been arrested in Indonesia for alleged child sex abuse, police said Tuesday, in a scandal that has rocked one of the country’s most prestigious international schools.
The teacher, an administrator at the Jakarta International School in the capital, could face up to 15 years’ jail if found guilty, Jakarta police spokesman Rikwanto said.
“We arrested him Monday night over suspicions of child rape. He allegedly committed the act repeatedly in several locations on the school’s premises over a period of six months,” he told AFP.
An Indonesian teacher at the school was also arrested Monday for alleged sexual assault, Rikwanto said.
The school has come under intense scrutiny since police in April arrested several outsourced cleaners over the gang rape of a six-year-old boy.
Authorities have closed down the kindergarten, where the alleged abuses took place, and immigration officials have deported 20 foreign teachers for misusing their work visas.
The parents of one of the victims is seeking $125 million from the school in a lawsuit, the school said in a statement.
“We are distressed by this turn of events and are very frustrated that our staff members have been detained based on allegations against them that are absolutely false and are made without evidence,” the statement said.
The case has brought attention to the high incidence of child sex at schools across the country.