The Court of Appeal of Porto (TRP) has confirmed a suspended sentence of four years and nine months in prison against a former teacher for ill-treating autistic children at a school in Espinho, Aveiro district.
The ruling, dated January 24, which Lusa read this Thursday, rejected the appeal filed by the accused, who considered the sentence imposed in the first instance to be disproportionate, excessive and unfair.
The accused was sentenced by the Court of Santa Maria da Feira to one penalty of four years and nine months’ imprisonment in addition to the statutory penalty for committing seven crimes of ill-treatment, a crime of illegal recordings and photographs, a crime of coercion aggravated assault and the crime of sexual imposition.
The panel of judges, however, decided to suspend the execution of the sentence for an equal period of time, with the condition that the defendant pay compensation in the amount of 750 euros to each of the minor victims of ill-treatment.
The former teacher was also acquitted of three abuse offenses and numerous other sexual assault offences.
The facts occurred during the 2020/2021 school year when the defendant was working at a school in Espinho providing services at the Learning Support Center for Students with Autism, which at that time was attended by 10 students aged 12 to 17 years. .
The court found that during this period, the defendant continued to sit in the classroom and use her cell phone, as well as punch, kick, and punch the offended minors.
The defendant, a basic education graduate with a major in special education, also called the minors “donkeys,” “animals,” and “pigs” while yelling at them.
During the same period, the former teacher approached two operational assistants, telling them details of her sex life, and groped the buttocks of one of them.
As a result of this conduct, the accused became the subject of a disciplinary process during which she was suspended from office and ultimately subject to disciplinary action of dismissal from public service in July 2021.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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