‘Stepfather teaching despite sexual assault charges against him’

A young woman who had reported her stepfather for sexual assault against her when she was a minor has sent a letter to the education ministry asking for explanations as to how the man, a secondary school teacher, is still teaching when a court case has been pending against him since 2016, reports said on Tuesday.

The case was reported by daily Politis. The woman, who is now studying abroad, contacted Politis and the education ministry after she found out that her 49-year-old stepfather had been posted to teach in a high school for the current academic year. The court case pending against him since 2016 relates to accusations he sexually assaulted her when she was between 12 and 14.

The woman said the education ministry told her the man was not placed in a school, but she found his name on current teacher placement lists of the ministry. Politis confirmed they have seen the lists with the man’s name on them.

The young woman reported she had been sexually assaulted by the man who at the time was her mother’s husband two to three times between the age of 12 and 14. She told Politis that the man used to also beat and pull her by the hair for no apparent reason and swear at her.

The young woman moved to Cyprus from Ukraine when her mother married the teacher. The couple had a child who now lives with her father.

She said she decided to report him to the police after she turned 18 to protect herself, her mother and his students.

The 49-year-old reportedly denied the charges read to him in court concerning sexual exploitation of a minor and for taking advantage of his position as her stepfather. The offences reportedly took place between 2008 and 2010.

But the young woman also pointed out the prolonged delay in the start of the court procedure that was launched in 2016. Some two years later, the hearing process has not yet begun, due to constant postponements requested by the defendant, she said.

She added she has also sent a letter to the court some two weeks ago enquiring about the delay and the court procedure but she has yet to receive an answer.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.