TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Victims and their families are seeking state compensation for sexual abuse suffered at the hands of an elementary school baseball coach in Taichung.
In December 2024, prosecutors indicted Sung (松) for 90 crimes including molestation and sexual assault against 32 children over six years. Parents contacted the school in October after changes in their children's behavior led them to discover the abuse.
On Thursday, some of the victims’ parents held a press conference, conveying the lifelong emotional harm inflicted on their children, per CNA. They also blamed the school for negligent supervision.
The Taichung City Education Bureau said it is offering legal assistance and counseling to victims and their families. Eight families have filed for government compensation so far.
Taichung City Councilor Chiang Ho-shu (江和樹), who joined the press conference, said the Taichung City Government failed to conduct due diligence before hiring the baseball coach. Chiang pointed out that Song was convicted of forced indecency in 2012. His sentence was later expunged.
The school said it conducted a background check before hiring the coach in 2019, but he did not appear in the ministry database of people banned from working with children. In 2021, the database was updated to include the coach’s criminal record, but the school failed to notice.
Parents said they had trusted Song with their children. They said he had a good attitude as a coach, and they never expected he could commit such abuse.
Furthermore, the children did not dare to disclose the abuse. Victims said the coach forced them to participate in inappropriate sexual behavior and threatened to exclude them from the team if they did not comply.
The coach also took videos to coerce the victims into silence. Explicit videos of 25 victims were found on Song’s phone, with students ranging from second to sixth grade and ones that have graduated.
