The court hereby sentences the defendant to life in prisonBandung, West Java (ANTARA) - The Bandung District Court found serial rapist Herry Wirawan guilty of raping his 13 female students while he was headmaster of an Islamic boarding school in West Java and sentenced him to life in prison.
The court judges contended that no factors existed that could aid to reduce Wirawan's sentence in proportion to his acts that profoundly affect his victims.
"The court hereby sentences the defendant to life in prison," Justice Yohannes Purnomo Suryo remarked while sentencing Wirawan during the court session at the Bandung District Court building, West Java, on Tuesday.
Wirawan, who arrived at the court office at 9:15 am local time (UTC +7), was seen without a prisoner vest and wearing only a white shirt during the sentencing.
He was found guilty of raping his 13 students, with some of his victims even becoming pregnant and bearing offspring as a result of the rape.
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Wirawan has been charged under Article 81, paragraph (1), paragraph (3), and paragraph (5) in conjunction with Article 76D of the Republic of Indonesia Law Number 17 of 2016 on Amendments to Law Number 23 of 2002 on Child Protection in conjunction with Article 65, paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code in the first indictment.
The sentence was more lenient than the prosecutor's demand that Wirawan be sentenced to death for raping and impregnating some of the victims, which are viewed as grave crimes.
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The prosecutor remains steadfast in the decision to seek death penalty despite Wirawan's earlier defence pleading for clemency and urging the judges to not give him a harsh penalty.
The judges remarked that the life sentence will expunge any opportunity of the rape victims ever encountering Wirawan in their life that might cause trauma to them.
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Translator: Bagus Ahmad R, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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