Thai teacher arrested for sexually assaulting schoolboy for 2 years

Police yesterday arrested a male Thai teacher who sexually assaulted a 14 year old schoolboy for almost two years at a school in the Klong Toey neighbourhood of Bangkok.

The boy’s mother only found out about the abuse on June 20 after the young victim, Nat, could no longer stand his teacher’s behaviour. According to Nat, his 38 year old music teacher raped him several times in the classroom and threatened him not to tell anyone.

The teacher later displayed his sadistic behaviour. The assault became increasingly violent until Nat decided to reveal the abuse to his mother.

The mother revealed that she trusted the teacher because he always boasted about being a skilled musician and winning several awards in music competitions. The teacher encouraged Nat to take extra lessons with him and she agreed. She did not expect her son to be a victim of sexual abuse for so long.

According to the mother, she recounted the incident to a group of parents who insisted that the school take action on the matter. The school director assured them that an investigation would be conducted but indicated that it would take six to seven months.

Both the victim’s mother and other parents expressed concern over the prolonged process, fearing that Nat might not receive justice. Consequently, they reached out to the non-profit organisation Saimai Survive.

Ekkaphop Lueangprasert, the founder of Saimai Survive, accompanied the mother to Thong Lo Police Station yesterday, June 25, to complain about the teacher. Subsequently, the police arrested the teacher at the school later that evening.

During an initial investigation, officers found a number of explicit videos of child sexual abuse on the teacher’s mobile phone. Officers have not yet formally charged the rapist and he is now being interrogated at the police station.

Police station chief Phansa Amaraphithak told ThaiRath that the teacher had been teaching at the school for more than eight years. The school is one of the country’s leading and most prestigious institutions, but police said they would not facilitate the suspect in any way.