Former preschool teacher gets 30 more years for molesting children

Taipei, Sept. 24 (CNA) A former preschool teacher in Taipei was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison and fined NT$500 million (US$16.5 million) for molesting multiple children at a school owned by his mother and for illicitly filming minors in public spaces.

In its ruling, the Taipei District Court said Mao Chun-shen's (毛畯珅) crimes warranted a cumulative prison term of over 3,000 years.

It was Mao's second conviction for sexual abuse, following a case in 2024, when he was sentenced to 28 years and eight months in prison.

On Wednesday, the court found Mao guilty of molesting children under the age of seven and filming them while doing do so, at the Taipei Piramide School owned by his mother, between September 2021 and July 2023.

According to the ruling, Mao also secretly filmed minors in public spaces, including streets, restaurants, malls, and parks.

The court convicted Mao on 232 counts of secretly filming children, and 191 counts of indecent assault of girls under the age of 14. The number of identifiable victims totaled 40, according to court.

In total, the convictions numbered 510, which warranted an accumulated sentence of 3,552 years in prison, according to the court.

Mao was sentenced, however, to 30 years in prison, a ruling that can be appealed. Under the Criminal Code, the maximum statutory sentence for his offenses is 30 years.

The court said Mao exploited the trust of children, inflicted lasting physical and psychological harm, and caused profound trauma to their families, warranting the maximum penalty permitted under the law.

When Mao was sentenced last year to 28 years and eight months in prison, he appealed that ruling, but it was upheld in May by the Supreme Court.