A teacher in Ecuador has been detained on suspicion of sexually abusing 84 children, a prosecutor said on Wednesday.
Prosecutor Mariana Huilcapi said a teacher working in Quito was taken into custody as part of an investigation, which began last July, into “alleged sexual offenses in the field of education.”
“Preliminary information was reported on 10 alleged cases of sexual abuse. However, as a result of the investigation, it was possible to determine 84 minors were allegedly involved,” she added.
Hulicapi said the alleged victims were aged 12 to 14.
The case comes after the prosecution ordered the detention of three teachers suspected of abusing children at a school in the southeastern port of Guayaquil.
Authorities are investigating a dozen crimes in Guayaquil, while the prosecution is offering a $10,000 reward for help in locating a fourth teacher whose whereabouts are unknown.
Investigators interviewed five seven- and eight-year-olds, who said teachers carried out the abuse in school bathrooms during break times, using “deception, threats and intimidation,” according to a statement by the prosecution.
The case of Guayaquil, which according to local press reports involved dozens of children, prompted a firm reaction from President Lenin Moreno.
“We cannot allow impunity in these crimes,” he wrote on Twitter.
Moreno has announced a national referendum – the date of which has yet to be set –which among other questions will ask Ecuadorians if they want to remove from the constitution the statute of limitations on sexual abuse crimes against children. /kga