Physical education teacher held for raping 4-yr-old girl

A physical education teacher of a reputed private school on Hosur Road in the City was arrested on Tuesday for sexually assaulting a four-and-half-year-old girl student on the campus.

The arrested has been identified as Romeo (25), a resident of Koramangala. “The incident occurred on the school premises on Monday and a complaint was lodged subsequently. The Parappana Agrahara police arrested Romeo on Tuesday. He has been booked under the provisions of  Pocso Act and Section 376 IPC (rape),” Deputy Commissioner of Police (South-East) Dr Rohini Katoch Sepat told Deccan Herald.

The police said the victim returned home after her school hours and appeared depressed. She complained of severe pain in her private parts after the parents asked her the reason. Her parents took her to a nearby hospital and the doctors, after examining her, said that the girl had been sexually assaulted. “As it was a sensitive case involving a child, the hospital authorities immediately contacted the police and narrated the incident. 

The police rushed there, collected details and a case was registered,” the police said.
Preliminary investigation revealed that Romeo had taken the girl to a particular block on the school premises, undressed her and touched her private parts. The school management has installed CCTV cameras at a few locations. The CCTV footages and other evidences collected by the police corroborate the victim’s statement, the DCP added.

There are about 60 full-time staffers in the school. The management appointed four teachers, including Romeo, as guest teachers six months ago. The management had completed the background verification of the full-timers, but did not thoroughly verify that of the guest teachers.

The four teachers were outsourced to the school by a private agency. The agency had hired a team to conduct the background verification of the staff it provides. “The team conducted the verification in an unprofessional way and submitted a report. The team completed the reference verification and police verification, but did not complete the criminal background verification. The police would now verify if Romeo had any criminal antecedents,” the DCP stated. Romeo has been living in the City for the past four years ago. He was employed elsewhere before joining this school.