Temple shaman gets 25-year sentence for sexual assault of devotee

Taipei, June 8 (CNA) The Yilan District Court recently sentenced the owner of a private Taoist temple in Yilan to 25 years in prison for sexually assaulting a female devotee.

According to the verdict issued on May 27, the court found the temple's owner, Huang Kuo-ching (黃國靖), guilty of 39 counts of sexual assault committed between December 2020 and November 2023.

Huang founded the private Taoist temple in 2015 and also served as its shaman, said the Yilan District Court, which heard the case.

The unnamed victim, who was suffering from long-term emotional and mental stress, was referred to Huang's temple in 2015 by one of her husband's coworkers, who recommended it as a treatment option, the verdict said.

As the victim was susceptible to superstition, Huang was able to convince her that she was being haunted by evil spirits and affected by terrible karma from her past life, which required various Taoist shamanistic rituals for healing, the court said.

In 2016, the woman went to a massage parlor owned by Huang, who sexually harassed her for the first time, the verdict said.

Following an accident in 2020, the victim once again sought treatment from Huang, this time for a neck injury, according to the court.

During that visit, Huang suggested that the woman's spiritual condition could only be treated through more physically invasive rituals, to the dismay of her husband, who had accompanied her, the court said.

Huang was able to direct the woman to perform oral sex on him at a later date that year, the first in a series of sexual assaults that occurred in Yilan and Yunlin counties and other parts of Taiwan, the verdict said.

After enduring almost four years of sexual assault, the woman eventually reported Huang to the police, the court said.

During the trial, Huang pleaded not guilty, claiming that the victim's husband had convinced her to agree to "sexual treatment," and she had subsequently requested more of the same.

The panel of judges in the case dismissed Huang's argument, ruling that the victim's gullibility meant that the sexual acts were not consensual.

By playing on the woman's superstitions, Huang coerced her into making self-destructive decisions, the court ruled.

Based on the evidence, which included the victim's written records and diaries, the court on May 27 found Huang guilty of 39 counts of sexual assault, each carrying a 3.5-year prison sentence, according to the verdict, which can be appealed.

In its ruling, the Yilan District Court sentenced Huang to a total of 25 years in prison.