The District Court in Lublin on Thursday finally sentenced 83-year-old music teacher Jan K. to one year and six months in prison. According to the findings, he molested underage girls while they were learning to play instruments in the years 2002-2021.
On Thursday, the District Court in Lublin upheld the first-instance verdict against 83-year-old music teacher Jan K., who was sentenced to one year and six months in prison for causing minor girls to submit to other sexual acts, in some cases by exploiting a relationship of subordination and helplessness. A 10-year ban on holding positions and performing professions related to the education of minors was also upheld. Jan K. was not present at the announcement of the final verdict.
The appeal is unfounded
The District Court in Lublin ruled that the appeal filed by the defense attorney was unfounded. “The issue of guilt in most of the acts is beyond doubt,” said Judge Magdalena Krzysiak in her justification.
She pointed out that the injured students had contact with the accused in different years, but their testimonies were consistent primarily with regard to the way in which they were allegedly touched by the accused. “Most of the injured parties did not know each other, so there is no presumption that they could in any way establish a version unfavourable to the accused,” the judge assessed.
The court did not agree with the line of defense presented in the appeal, that the actions taken by the music teacher had only educational value. “It is impossible to accept that touching in intimate areas – in particular thighs, crotch, breasts – in most of the minor victims was an accidental action,” judge Krzysiak reasoned.
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The students gave signals that they did not accept the teacher's behavior
The court also did not agree with the position that the accused was educated and brought up in different times, when the conventions were different, in particular the physical relationship between the teacher and students. “Because he received signals that this type of behavior was unacceptable. These signals came from both parents and the students themselves, who distanced themselves from him,” the judge described. As she explained, the accused's actions are not ruled out by the fact that the lessons took place in a room with transparent walls, because the students were often covered by the instrument.
The judge added that the expert opinion showed that Jan K.'s actions were undertaken in order to satisfy his sexual desires, and that underage students were more accessible to him than adults, although – as established – he also committed such acts against two adults and the third injured party, who was a person with a limited degree of mental development.
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The court of first instance, in April, indicated that the sentence imposed on Jan K. may be served under the so-called electronic monitoring. “If the penitentiary court agrees to it,” Joanna Bis-Banach noted at the time, justifying the judgment.
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