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Published on November 21, 2007

Two schoolteachers were sentenced to 50-year jail terms yesterday for the serial rape of young students in Bangkok's Sai Mai district.

The Criminal Court ruled on a case filed by public prosecutors against Lorn Sorakanit, 59, and Pimol Chunsri, 49, for taking schoolgirls under 15 away from their parents for lewd acts, illegal detention and rape.

After hearing the evidence, the court yesterday announced both men were guilty as charged and sentenced Lorn to 68 years and three months, while Pimol received a 51-year jail term. However, since the law only allows a maximum of 50 years jail, each got 50-year terms.

The public prosecutor said both defendants committed crimes on many separate occasions from June 1 to August 10 in 2006, and that they had taken turns raping the girls, sometimes forcing their classmates to watch.

Lorn took six-year-old Kuk (not her real name) to a school toilet to molest her and, on a separate occasion, took Oui (not her real name) to detain and rape her. Lorn later raped and molested Kuk another five times. Lorn also raped seven-year-old Noi (not her real name) and her younger sister Noon (not her real name), aged six.

Pimol molested and raped Kuk while the girl was not in a condition to resist on four separate occasions.

Both men together lured five girls aged seven to eight away from their parents to molest and rape them.

Police arrested the teachers on August 10 last year, after which they were temporarily suspended from work at school, but they maintained innocence, denying all charges against them until the Criminal Court found them guilty yesterday and handed them the maximum imprisonment.

The case came to the public's attention after Pavena Hongsakul, president of the Pavena Foundation for Women and Children, took the victims to police to file their complaint.

Later, the teachers accused Pavena of trying to incriminate them as she might harbour a grudge as a result of losing the last election when Pavena was a candidate in the seat of Sai Mai and they were ballot officers at a polling station. Pavena denied she had ever known Lorn before.

Lorn and Pimol sought bail last night to lodge an appeal, but were held in custody as their application was submitted after 5pm.

The Nation