An
Indonesian court on Thursday found a Canadian educator and an
Indonesian teaching assistant at one of the country’s most prestigious
international schools guilty of sexually assaulting three kindergarten
students, after a high-profile trial in which defense lawyers and the
school asserted that the entire case had been fabricated.
Neil
Bantleman, a guidance counselor at the Jakarta Intercultural School,
and Ferdinand Tjiong, the teaching assistant, were sentenced to 10 years
in prison by a three-judge panel at the South Jakarta District Court.
The four-month trial was held behind closed doors, but the lengthy
verdicts were read during public hearing that lasted for hours.