Paedophiles get 34 years hard labour in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, NOV 11: Two members of staff at a prestigious Sri Lankan school have been sentenced to 34 years hard labour for sexually abusing ...

COLOMBO, NOV 11: Two members of staff at a prestigious Sri Lankan school have been sentenced to 34 years hard labour for sexually abusing and trafficking in schoolboys.

Music teacher Don Amaradasa and his accomplice, Canteen Assistant K H Nimal, both worked at the well-known Mahinda College in the southern coastal town of Galle. They were convicted on nine charges relating to offences committed against three boys aged 12 to 13, who gave evidence against them in court.

According to prosecutors, the two used heroin-laced sweets to ensnare the children, making them addicted and forcing them to appear in pornographic videos. The boys were also hired to both foreign tourists and locals for sexual abuse.

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A number of foreign pedophiles left the country when the allegations first surfaced against the two, prosecutors said. The sex trade came to light after a 12-year-old boy from the school told his parents about the abuse, subsequently describing his horrific experiences to a counsellor. The parents of the other two boys later came forward to back the allegations against the teacher and his accomplice.

Maureen Seneviratne of the Protection of Environment and Children Everywhere (PEACE) pressure group hailed the punishment as a "historic sentence." She said the judgement was possible due to the government amending the penal code, aiding stiff sentences and speedy trials for such offences.

The Government changed the law in 1998 following a spate of allegations of sexual abuse of boys, specially by foreign paedophiles and their local accomplices.