T

he Tangerang District Court on Tuesday sentenced orphanage owner Chemy '€œSamuel'€ Watulingas to 10 years imprisonment and obliged him to pay a Rp 100 million (US$8,147) fine or serve a five-month substitute jail sentence after being found guilty of sexually assaulting several orphans at the orphanage in the Gading Serpong housing complex in Tangerang, Banten.

The panel of judges was of the same view that Samuel was guilty of violating Article 81 of the 2002 Child Protection Law for using violence and intimidation in his attempts to have sex with several female orphans at the orphanage. The article stipulates a maximum 15-year prison sentence.

'€œWe also find the defendant guilty of assaulting minors under Article 80 and of negligence causing physical or mental pains and suffering under Article 77 of the same law,'€ presiding judge Herdi Agustin said.

The sentence was lower than the prison sentence of 12 years and fine of Rp 100 million demanded by the state prosecutors in the previous court session.

The trial was closed to the public since the victims were underage but the verdict was handed down in an open session as dictated by the Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP).

The case first came to light in February after an official report was filed with the police by the Mawar Saron Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Mawar), which was based on combined reports about physical assaults from a donor and seven orphans who had already fled the orphanage.

LBH Mawar Saron said Samuel had allegedly abused more than 30 children at the orphanage since its establishment in 2002.

During the trials, two girls testified that they had been raped by Samuel in his private apartment. Seven other orphans also testified against Samuel throughout the hearings.

Samuel'€™s wife, Yuni Winata, was also reported to the police after several witnesses have also testified that several times she launched physical assaults on the victims, but so far she has only been questioned as a witness in the case.

Separately, LBH Mawar Saron director John Pattiwael said that he was disappointed with the outcome.

'€œWe appreciate the panel of judges and their work during the hearings. However, we still hope that the prosecutors will appeal the sentence,'€ he said.

John explained that the prosecutors should appeal to the court and demand that Samuel be given the maximum sentence in line with Presidential Decree No. 5/2014 on the national movement against the sexual abuse of children.

The decree states that state prosecutors have to demand the maximum prison sentence for child molesters to provide a deterrent effect for those committing similar crimes.

LBH Mawar Saron lawyer Jecky Tengens told The Jakarta Post he received information that state prosecutors were still considering lodging an appeal while Samuel'€™s lawyers confirmed that they would file one.

Meanwhile, Cornelius Kopong, a member of the lawyer team who accompanied Samuel in the case said that they would be appealing to the Higher Court because there is no evidence his client committed physical and sexual abuses and the sentence was very harsh.

'€œThere was absolutely no evidence that Samuel had ever assaulted or sexually abused any of the children. Furthermore, the word '€˜negligence'€™ must also be further dissected,'€ he said.

Previously, Samuel'€™s lawyers presented their own witnesses to prove his innocence, including an orphan who used to live at the orphanage and also one of the caretakers there. Both claimed that Samuel had not committed the crimes he was charged with.