The parents of the girl told police that their child was raped around 4pm on August 6 while waiting for her ride home in the computer room on the third floor of the school. They said the teacher then drove the girl home.
There was a considerable delay before the Phuket Court issue an arrest warrant on October 13 for the 29-year-old teacher from Phang Nga.
Yesterday the warrant was finally acted on and the teacher was arrested on a charge of raping someone under 13 years of age who is not his wife, whether or not the victim was willing.
Two versions of the story have emerged. The parents say they were suspicious and questioned the child. After she told them what happened in the computer lab, they then took her straight to the police station.
But the teacher, who is a former Thai Judo Team member and teaches physical education at the school, denies rape. He told police that he had found the victim passed out in the computer class, and helped her by massaging her arms – nothing more.
“I dropped her off at her house and told her mother that she was sick and that I had given her a massage to help her recover,” the teacher told police. “But her mother then demanded B150,000 – which I paid, because I didn’t want to lose my job.
“After that the father of the girl came to the school and threatened to report me if I did not give him another B100,000. I refused to give it to him so the parents decided to file a report with police, accusing me of rape.”
Lt Col Suttichai Tienphoe, chief investigator of Kathu Police, said, “We have hard evidence against him, regardless of his denial. He will remain in custody.”