According to the statement of the 12-year-old student, she was sexually abused during the 2016-2017 school year: at lunchtime the abuser was taking care of four girls in a room. They sat down at a table for four students to make drawings, and at one point the teacher sat next to the child and “started masturbating” until the timbre of going back to school rang.

The victim did not immediately report sexual assault, but in 2021. Seeing the teacher at the school encouraged the girl to explain to her parents what had happened four years earlier, in order to prevent the teacher from "doing the same" with other girls. The assailant was expelled from his position a few days after the victim’s parents reported the case to the Education Inspectorate.

Furthermore, the sentence handed down on 11 December last year is not final, since it is possible to appeal to the Superior Court of Justice of the Basque Country, especially since the aggressor has denied all the accusations during the trial and has questioned the acquittal. As for sexual assaults on minors, Professor Irungo has a record: twenty years ago he was tried for the same crime, but in that case he was acquitted.

More cases of sexual assault against children come to light

In addition to the sentence of Professor Irún, it has recently been reported that two teachers from a school in San Sebastián have been arrested for sexually assaulting a 4-year-old boy. According to the newspaper Diario de Noticias, both were arrested on Monday morning in the capital of Gipuzkoa and Hondarribia. Since the case is under secret investigation, the Department of Homeland Security has not provided any further details.

Teachers of a school for children between the ages of 3 and 6 have been arrested and the school has been temporarily closed by the Basque Government.