Yonhap reports that police in Busan have applied for an arrest warrant for a 37-year-old New Zealander suspected of habitually molesting a 7-year-girl at his hagwon in Haeundae-gu. According to police, the Kiwi, identified as “T,” moved the alleged victim’s chair to a corner of the classroom so he could molest her without the other children in the class knowing. The mother called the police, who the picked up “T” for questioning. “T” is reportedly denying the charges.
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33 Comments
This sounds highly unlikely. How could he do anything in a classroom without the other students finding out? Wouldn’t a 7 year old girl cry, thus alerting other students if not other teachers at the hagwon?
I am not sure where the allegations stem from, but methinks someone led the girl to make those claims.
Sounds like little girl got put in the corner and mommy doesn’t like it. How can I get back at teacher….
Well, I’m not the type that does the knee-jerk defend the foreigner because he’s a foreigner routine. In any case, this will not be good.
“Well, I’m not the type that does the knee-jerk defend the foreigner because he’s a foreigner routine.”
I am the same as you in that respect, but the whole story does sound a bit outrageous, doesn’t it? What better way to make sure a certain teacher never teaches your kid again? Claim molestation.
i wondered how long it would be before the expat brigade would rush right out to defend an accused pedophile. not long at all, i see.
instead of supporting the child, they actually accuse the child of being a liar:
’someone led the girl to make those claims….’
then they go on to accuse the mother of being a liar:
‘mommy doesn’t like it. How can I get back at teacher….’
and what proof do they have to support their accusations towards the victims? well, nothing more than the commanality of their race with the race of the accused pedophile. nothing more.
this is exactly why i have so little respect for the expat; while he accuses koreans of being ‘pigs at the trough’, he can’t see he’s a pig too.
i believe the child.
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Not all of us are taking sides, so keep a lid on your righteous indignation.
This sort of accusation, whether in Korea or elsewhere, is a good argument for having cameras in classrooms.
Apart from the actual case of this girl, the issue becomes why the Korean media uses such cases to stoke anti-Westerner feeling when it reflects little on sexual abuse of Korean children by Koreans, and ignores the sexual abuse of foreign children by Koreans (as in Kiribati). So, hate the “expat” as much as you like, I for one shall continue to call Koreans on their race-baiting and hypocrisy.
I see you are not really familiar with the meaning and use of the metaphorical phrase “pigs at a trough”. That notwithstanding, suffice to say that many (non-Korean) Americans have used it many times over many years in relation to other (non-Korean) Americans.
Pawikirogi,
Why can’t you make an argument without projecting your own bigotry? My argument has absolutely nothing to do with race. It has to do with logic. Don’t you think that someone might notice? Don’t you think that the girl would make some sort of indication? Alas, neither of those things have happened.
Also, doesn’t innocent until proven guilty exist here? You’re ready to convict and execute right here without any more information than what we have.
If the allegations are true, then I agree that this particular teacher is a scumbag and needs to do some serious time before being banished from Korea, and I do hope that the girl is OK.
The allegations just don’t add up as they have been reported.
So, please get over your racism and think logically for once.
Oh and by the way, I know of at least one Korean who WAS molested by a (Korean) teacher. With your logic, we should hate all Koreans as well.
It seems incredible that a teacher could molest a child without others noticing, even if the child were placed in a corner. It is equally incredible that a parent would make such serious false charges when they could simply ask for the child to be reassigned to another teacher, a request likely to be honored. As part of the investigation, the child will be interviewed. What sicko parent would coach their own child to describe being sexually molested? Teachers have been falsely accused of child molestation, most infamously the McMartin Preschool case back in the 80s, but these allegations usually arise from observations of physical or behavioral abnormalities.
There are cameras in classrooms. The kids have them on their cellphones.
Do you think one was used to record this girl’s alleged abuse?
Of course I meant closed circuit cameras installed and monitored systematically, not ad hoc images recorded by students.
I know you meant CCTV. With cell phones, it’s a matter of knowing when to use them. Middle school students were pretty effective a few years ago at getting teachers to stop throwing books at their students’ heads by videoing a few incidents. That is certainly different from 7-year-olds having the judgment to film something like this alleged incident. Still, it could happen.
And who said anything about the child being a liar? Where in the comments did anybody said that?
Also, I’d love to see how anyone can pull a stunt like that in the presence of at least a dozen kids without anyone of them raising a howl, aside from the alleged victim.
#5,
Cut it out Pawi. We now see right through your act after that comment about the guy with the Italian kimbap. You don’t have to be offensive to play the devil’s advocate.
Also, I’d love to see how anyone can pull a stunt like that in the presence of at least a dozen kids without anyone of them raising a howl, aside from the alleged victim.
PS. Habitually (which means repeatedly), I might add, as the news suggests.
“Why can’t you make an argument without projecting your own bigotry?”
I bet he doesn’t answer that.
pawi, again, on behalf of all of us perfectly identical expats who look, think, and act indentically (at least in your angry, f’d head), thank you for expressing your hatred again.
What is it that causes you to hate every expat so much? I say “every” because of the way you love to group us all together.
I’ve asked you this kind of question several times before… why it is that you lump us all together and then puke your hate venom at us… but you’ve never given an answer.
Did an expat take your gf? Did an expat take a girl whom you wanted for your gf? Did an expat take your job? Did an expat disagree that all things Korean aren’t perfect then have to audacity to express his opinion? Did an expat once spill your korean koolaid? Really, what is the source of your hatred?
Well, I don’t know… the occasion of pediphilia is so rare in the consciousness of Koreans (let alone Korean kids) that I find it hard to imagine a kid making that kind of stuff up.
At best perhaps it’s a misunderstanding? At worse, it’s true.
First of all, if true, that is one f*cked up news.
On one hand, it is plausible that the whole molestation was a huge frame up (A certain South Park episode comes to mind… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T....._Adventure)
But on the other hand, pawi’s criticism is valid to the point where the first two responses to the case isn’t the standard ‘how horrible!’, but ‘yeah, right (complete with rolled eyes)’. Either a blatant display of ultra-cynicism or pawi’s whole comment is valid. Let’s go with ‘too much cynicisms around here’.
#17,
For one thing, how do we even know the kid said anything at all?
#19 exactly.
The story just sounds so reaching. If there was any kind of evidence, even if circumstantial (holding the girl after class or giving her private lessons) that little 200 word piece would have been front page news instead. As a former teacher I have had Korean parents complain when I sat their child away from the group. Now, with all that has been going on in the Korean media with teachers doing drugs, teachers hurting children, teachers taking advantage of poor innocent Korean girls in Hongdae, I am surprised that things like this have not come up more often. Mark my words, this is just the start of things to come. No matter what happens, even if found out the parent lied, “T” is out of job and a place to live and who knows what how this damaged his life. Now if the f*cker did it, hang his balls on Namdaemun.
We don’t really have enough details yet to figure out what did or didn’t happen. I think that a presumption of innocence is fair and proper, but it often doesn’t work out that way when it comes to child molestation. Just being accused of something like this can be a professional death sentence, not to mention tear one’s life apart in general.
And this certainly is not unique to Korea. Avoiding/dealing with damaging accusations was part of my teacher training in Canada, and is never far from the minds of teachers I know. (In Korea too, I try to avoid being alone in a classroom or my office with a student, I save any unusual emails or notes, etc. to try to cover my ass in the event of a problem.) I was certified for middle and high school teaching, and I knew a few guys in the program who, while interested in teaching at the primary/elemetary level at one point in time, opted to avoid teaching younger students for this reason. I also know teachers who have been worried about the potential for accusations when coaching sports.
As for the child involved, I hope she gets through the experience. Regardless of what did or didn’t occur, this has to be an extremely upsetting and confusing situation for her. No child should ever have to go through this kind of ordeal.
“Now if the f*cker did it, hang his balls on Namdaemun.”
I’m generally not a believer in viglante justice and genital mutilation/castration, but when it comes to proven child molesters, I can appreciate your sentiment. The guys who actually commit these kinds of crimes against children are true monsters. You don’t have to be a parent to feel loathing for such freaks, but becoming a father definitely hardened my attitudes a little.
Poor girl, regardless of whether she was molested or not.
Yeah. If she was molested then it’s obvious what the consequences are, and that scars her for life. If she wasn’t then she’s being used as a pawn by other people and that’s unfair to her as a person.
“Yeah. If she was molested then it’s obvious what the consequences are, and that scars her for life. If she wasn’t then she’s being used as a pawn by other people and that’s unfair to her as a person.”
Exactly.
I was accused of “skinship,” with girl(s) at my public elementary. They told me it happened “a few months ago,” but they just heard about it. They gave me a two-week notice, I told them they must give me 30. So, they did. Their accusations were complete nonsense!
I suspect the parents get/will get discounted rates(or free English) from this point forward. Most Koreans are BAD liars!
Luckily there are cameras in my hagwon. A false accusation ruined more than one life back at my old junior high in the states. Some lard-assed young boys decided they didn’t care much for physical education and filed a false report against a truly great teacher and coach. This man lost his wife, children, house, and all his savings before the truth finally came out, and he was cleared of the charges. Still, with his life now a mess, he decided to end it.
These same young punks told me that if I didn’t quit giving them homework that they might do the same thing to me. I informed the school board of the situation and asked for cameras to be installed in my classroom (on my own dime). They refused citing the rights’ of the students over my own. I quit on the spot, and these morons actually tried to sue me to keep me working as a substitute until a replacement could be hired. I called the state education association, and within minutes, I was released from my contract.
Now, how do you control bullies in a society where ‘face’ matters so much? We have some problem kids, but the other teachers don’t want to dishonor these bullies’ parents by disclosing this fact to them. I’ve been trying to ignore them, but watching the pain and suffering they are inflicting on the other kids is becoming too much for me to stomach. Also, we end up losing some great kids who leave because of this crap, while these problem kids stick around. Status quo needs to change.
#26 And why do the problem kids hang around? Well, who’d want them at home? The teacher should be solving these problems, that’s why we pay them so much and give them such good vacations.
Seriously, the story sounds a bit far-fetched but if somehow it’s true the guy deserves everything he gets. I just don’t think it’s too likely, and he’s going to get it anyway. Heck, he’s lucky if he doesn’t have a face full of bruises already. If he’s innocent he should book his flight; his picture’ll be on the net by now.
Cameras in classrooms? Love it (I used to volunteer for the camera-equipped class in my old hagwon). But the troublemaking kids wouldn’t stand for it; Mumsy would be on the phone the next day if Junior was being thwarted in his hellraising ways. Good for you for quitting when you did, neither teachers nor students should have the expectation of privacy in the classroom for this very reason.
#7 tmc1233:
“Also, doesn’t innocent until proven guilty exist here?”
Answer: NO, it does not! The korean justice system presumes a defendant GUILTY. Basic Korean law was borrowed from Nazi Germany via the Japanese. The koreans have never bothered to reform or scrap this travesty because it has served governments (not the people) well over the years.
Add to this korean xenophobia and no foreigner accused of anything here has a snowball’s-chance-in-hell in korean court. The recent acquittal of a GI in the attempted cop rape case last week took yours truly by complete surprise. I’ve been here a while and it is the first time of heard of any foreigner being found not guilty of anything in korean court.
So, against this backdrop, what to make of the parent’s accusations? Especially considering their timeliness against the backdrop of visa-tightening over the esl-boy-lover-in-Thailand flap.
Pass me another ton of salt, pleas….
As any poor ESL teacher slugging it out in the hagwons will tell you, sexual assault occurs in many hagwon classrooms with regularity, but the victims are often teachers.
Come on, fair’s fair - it’s time to serve all the young dong-chibbers in hagwon classes with arrest warrants for sexual assault. After all, there’s ample video evidence of the young tots’ crimes.
Bah!
As much as a new zealander will try to pull the wool over your eyes and deny they like kids, as sheepish as they may feel now, theyll fleece a hakwon if they think they can get to do these little lambs.
You must not have heard of Kenzi Snider, which was big news. Also, I don’t recall that there is any duty on anyone in the court system to report to you on disposition of cases.
yeah i dont get it how can someone get arrested without any proof?
ok mom calls up korea’s finest and says some guy is molesting my daughter!
cops say ok we will arrest him!
that is insane
Let’s remember that in Korea, being a victim does not bring with it either huge payouts from the perpetrator or sympathy points from the public. On the contrary, the victim is stigmatized.
So whatever may have happened, I doubt that mother/daughter concocted these charges just for the hell of it.