Child abuse cases highlighted to guide Shandong judges

The highest court in Shandong province has highlighted several "typical cases" of convicted child molesters to help judges when sentencing sex offenders, according to a report on jiemian.com.

Chinese courts at all levels use "typical cases" to guide judicial professionals, while they can also be cited by attorneys for the prosecution or defense to support their argument.

Among the cases highlighted by Shandong High People’s Court was that of He Peng, who sexually abused two girls age 12 and 14 at an illegal care center he opened in May 2014.

"He cajoled, threatened and molested (one of the girls) multiple times, causing serious damage to the child’s physical and mental health," judge Xie Ping said at a news conference in Jinan, the provincial capital, on Monday.

The accused was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Fu Guoqing, vice-president of the high court, said Shandong courts have annually handed down heavy penalties to over 30 percent of convicted child molesters in recent years. This, he said, has done much to raise awareness about the need to protect the legal rights of minors.

Qiu Weiyi contributed to this story.