Teacher sentenced for beating six-year-old autistic boy with stick in central Turkey

KONYA – Doğan News Agency

A court in the Central Anatolian province of Konya has sentenced a pre-school teacher to 200 days in prison for beating a six-year-old autistic child with a stick.

The punishment was subsequently reduced to a fine of 4,000 Turkish Liras (around $1,110). 

Surveillance cameras caught the teacher, identified only by the initials F.K., kicking and hitting the boy with a stick at a rehabilitation center in Konya in November last year. 

The family of the victim then filed a legal complaint for bodily harm. 

Defending herself, the teacher said the student “did not respond to verbal warnings.” 

“I touched him lightly with the small stick in my hand and with my leg. I did not intentionally hit him hard,” she said. 

In its ruling, the court stated that the crime was committed against a victim who could not defend himself physically or psychologically, noting that the stick is a “weapon that can be used for defending oneself or attacking.”