Five teachers at a public school in Mukdahan have been suspended after being charged in connection with repeated sexual assaults against a 14-year-old girl. Two school alumni are also accused of having taken part, and all are said to have taken video of the acts.
The incidents reportedly began in March last year but the victim’s grandmother only learned of them early this month. She filed a complaint with Phueng Daed police last Sunday and they obtained arrest warrants. The seven men face charges of sexually abusing a girl aged under 15 and depriving her of parental care.
The suspects subsequently surrendered to police and were taken to court, where they were released on bail of 200,000 baht each ending further investigations.
The teachers have been removed from the school and transferred to office jobs pending a disciplinary investigation, said Prasert Boonruang, permanent secretary for the Education Ministry. Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan has been informed of the incident, officials said.
The grandmother of the Matthayom Suksa 2 student told police that the five teachers and two other men sexually assaulted her granddaughter at various places in the compound of the school and also took video of the acts, starting in March last year.
The teachers also threatened to make her repeat classes if she refused to have sex with them, police were told. The girl dared not tell anyone about the incidents until her grandmother learned about them recently.
There have been reports that another girl, a Mathayom Suksa 4 student at the same school, had also been sexually abused by the same seven suspects.
Pol Col Krissana Pattanacharoen, the deputy national police spokesman, confirmed that investigators had received a related complaint from a 16-year-old girl.
He said national police chief Chakthip Chaijinda had instructed police handling the case to gather evidence and ensure justice to all sides.