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GHENT/DESTELBERGEN –
The 51-year-old teacher of Pius X primary school is appealing against his sentence. SM was sentenced to six years in prison for the sexual assault of thirteen underage students, but does not agree with this. “He needs to get therapy,” says his lawyer.
Former teacher SM (51) was convicted in mid-November for the sexual assault of thirteen underage students and five counts of voyeurism. The court took the facts seriously and gave M. an effective prison sentence of six years. “A signal to society and the victims,” the judge said.
However, M. does not agree with his sentence and has appealed. This is confirmed by his lawyer Joris Van Cauter. “He must receive guidance and therapy,” says Van Cauter. “The man had already followed therapies in the past and has had a positive trajectory. He must be able to continue that process, but that is not possible with an effective prison sentence.”
Vulnerable students
The abuse by SM teacher came to light at the end of 2022 after a complaint of inappropriate behavior was filed against him. Ultimately, eighteen more victims came forward. This involved assaults on thirteen underage students and five counts of voyeurism in which he recorded boys changing clothes after swimming.
The facts were serious. M. always chooses vulnerable students: children with autism, ADHD or a difficult home situation. He hoped that the children would not acknowledge the abuse. His position as a care teacher also made it easy to approach the students unnoticed. The court took seriously the abuse of his position of authority.
Popular
A special team of vice inspectors thoroughly investigated the case. They also found child pornography on his computer. M. stated that he had been abused in the past. Child pornography was his way of ‘processing that trauma’.
When the facts came to light, the news hit like a bombshell. Colleagues of popular teacher SM did not notice for a long time. Yet there were already rumors in Destelbergen about his behavior.
It now remains to be seen what will happen next. The Court of Appeal will consider the case again.