REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The South Jakarta District Court has sentenced Neil Bantleman, a teacher at the Jakarta International School, to 10 years in prison on charges of sexually abusing his student.

"The defendant is proven guilty of deliberately conducting violence, deception, and lies," Chief Judge Nur Aslam Bustaman said while reading out the verdict on Thursday (2/4).

The judges also fined Bantleman Rp100 million, failing to pay which his sentence will be extended for six months.

According to Bustaman, the defendant's complicated testimonies and denial of having committed the crime were among factors that worked against him.

The session, which lasted for eight hours, was attended by a number of his fellow teachers, including his wife Tracy who looked shocked upon hearing the verdict.

The sentence was lighter than the prosecutor's demand for 12 years in jail for violating Article 82 of Law Number 32 of 2002 on child protection.

Another teacher at the school, Ferdinant Tjong, is currently awaiting a verdict over the same case.

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