Ex-Nantou school principal impeached over multiple sexual assault cases

Taipei, March 8 (CNA) The former principal of an elementary school in Nantou County, central Taiwan, was impeached by the Control Yuan on Thursday due to his indictment in multiple sexual assault cases involving students and for attempting to pervert the course of justice.

In a statement, the top government watchdog body said it initially censured the school head surnamed Liu (劉) on Sept. 7 last year after he was accused of attempting to obstruct the investigation and allegedly collaborated with local elected representatives to pressure both the school and the victims.

The impeachment has been referred to the Disciplinary Court, which will determine whether Liu will face a fine of up to NT$1 million (US$31,854), along with any other potential punishments.

According to Control Yuan members Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華), Wang Li-chen (王麗珍) and Chang Chu-fang (張菊芳), Liu, who served as an educator for over 34 years, took advantage of his position to develop intimate relationships with students, sexually harassing and assaulting more than 10 students under the age of 14.

The cases first came to light in June 2023, when several students disclosed sexual misconduct by the then principal, including non-consensual kissing, touching and hugging.

An investigation launched by the county government subsequently uncovered a total of 29 cases as of December 2023, though the local gender equality committee mainly focused on 10 cases where former elementary school students alleged sexual assault and three involving sexual harassment.

Based on evidence collected by the local government, the Control Yuan said that Liu excelled at networking and building trust with parents, while exploiting opportunities to teach or care for students to engage in sexual assault and develop unbalanced power dynamics.

The non-consensual sexual relationships between Liu and students have caused serious trauma among the victims, the statement added.

Liu was terminated in early December last year after the county's gender equality committee gathered evidence and verified his sexual misconduct. He was also prohibited from applying for retirement and related benefits.

Meanwhile, Liu was indicted by the Nantou District Prosecutors Office on Nov. 26 last year for obscenity, non-consensual touching and rape, the prosecutors office said. He has been in detention since October.

According to the indictment, Liu, who began his teaching career in 1994, became a stand-in principal in 2010. His sexual misconduct reportedly began as far back as 1996 and involved inappropriately touching students thighs, hands, breasts and stomachs, while engaging in forcible kissing.

A victim said she was pressed against a sofa while Liu was touching and kissing her. Another accuser reported that Liu forcibly french kissed her in a sports equipment storeroom.

The most severe case occurred when one of the victims, a sixth-grade student, 12 years old at the time, was reportedly taken to a motel by Liu where she was sexually assaulted, followed by a second attack later the same day at the side of an industrial road in Jhushan Township.

Liu asked the girl the following day whether there was blood in her underwear, and provided her with birth control pills, the indictment said.

Throughout the interrogation, however, Liu denied any wrongdoing and asserted that the victims had said incidents occurred at times when they could not possibly have happened. He also requested that the court summon witnesses.

The request was eventually rejected by the prosecutors in charge of case, noting that the statute of limitations has passed for some of the cases, and that the facts of the case will not be made clearer by summoning more witnesses.

Liu's trial is pending at the Taiwan Nantou District Court.