Religious culture teacher sexually abuses student!

Sinem Nazlı Demir

In Kayseri, N.G., who worked as a religious culture and ethics teacher at a high school, called a student named G.A. from the same school to make coffee in the boys' dormitory after dinner on 20 February 2024.

G.A., who felt compelled to accept the teacher's request, went to the boys' dormitory. G.A., now over 18 years old, described to 12punto how the ordeal began:

"N.G. taught my religious culture class at the high school I attended in Kayseri. I was staying in the dormitory at that school. Because I was in the dormitory, there were set entry and exit times. Whenever N.G. was the duty teacher in the boys' dormitory, he would call only me among the students to make coffee. On the day of the incident, N.G. called me again after the school dinner to make coffee. He said, 'Tell the female supervisors too, so the teachers can come as well,' and I said 'OK.' After dinner, I made the coffee in the teachers' room.

The female supervisors were there too. Then N.G. told me I had to wash the dishes and sent the female supervisors away. Because it was study hour, the dormitory doors were locked, so he didn't have me call the teachers. I started washing the dishes. N.G. then said to me, 'It's study hour right now, let's go to the boys' dormitory and sit there until study hour is over.' We entered the dormitory together through the door — there is camera footage of this."

THE TEACHER WHO ABUSED THE CHILD: "WILL YOU BE MY CHILD AGAIN?"

Growing increasingly suspicious of the situation, the student sent a message to his roommate at that point, saying, "The teacher named N.G. is taking me to the boys' dormitory — just in case, I'm going to record it."

Since all the students had gathered in the study hall during study hour and the other duty teachers had also gone to that hall, the teacher named N.G. and the student were left alone, and at N.G.'s request the student went to the TV room. The student named G.A. summarised what happened after he sat down in one of the two armchairs in the room:

"N.G. came and sat next to me, put his arm around me and said, 'I've missed you, my dear, look at me.' Then I tried to move away and pulled back. He put his arm around me again. He sexually abused me. Afterwards he said, 'OK, nothing like that happened, I'm sorry.' I said I wanted to go to the dormitory. He said, 'What are you going to do in the dormitory? Don't go.' Then he accepted my request and I immediately left first. There is camera footage of that too. Near the girls' dormitory, N.G. said to me, 'Have a cigarette and calm down. My God, oh Lord, oh Messenger of God. I'm so agitated I could bang my head against the walls like a psychopath. Will you be my child again?' I didn't want to talk and went to the dormitory. As soon as I got to the dormitory, I told my roommate what had happened. After the incident I vomited, my hands and feet were shaking."

"IF I'M STILL ALIVE TOMORROW, WILL YOU MAKE ME ONE LAST COFFEE?"

After the abuse, the teacher named N.G. began sending messages to the student, writing things like "If I'm still alive tomorrow, will you make me one last coffee?" The student stated that he did not want to meet. During this period, the teacher continued to attend the child's religious studies class. G.A. went to a doctor's appointment about a week later and, after telling the doctor what had happened, the investigation process began.

A case was opened at the Kayseri 1st Court of First Instance in Criminal Matters. N.G. began to be tried for the sexual abuse of a child. The child's statement was taken both at the gendarmerie and at the Child Advocacy Centre. The public prosecutor advised the child not to go to school for a few days. The gendarmerie then came to the school and took the defendant N.G. to the gendarmerie station to give a statement.

THE TEACHER WAS ONLY SUSPENDED AFTER THE CHILD'S FATHER FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE MINISTRY

In his statement at the gendarmerie, N.G. made remarks such as "G.A.'s psychological state is not good, it's stuck in his head," and when asked "why did you send messages," he said, "He's a child prone to suicide — I was brushing it off to support him so he wouldn't commit suicide."

After giving his statement, N.G. was released under judicial supervision and continued teaching. The child's father then applied to the Ministry of National Education, and the ministry suspended the defendant teacher.

DEFENDANT'S LAWYER: IF HE HAD AN INTEREST IN RELIGION, HIS RELIGIOUS STUDIES GRADE WOULD HAVE BEEN HIGH

The hearing process was difficult for the child. Describing the first hearings, G.A. offered the following words as evidence that courts are not a healthy environment for children:

"Our first hearing went badly because I was appearing in court for the first time. I obviously didn't know exactly how the process worked. When the judge told me to 'describe the incident,' I did, but the judge didn't give me the floor again. I thought I would get to speak again, but that didn't happen. Afterwards, N.G. made a series of unfounded statements. The defendant's lawyer then spoke about me, saying: 'The victim has a TikTok account and has a passion for becoming an influencer. Fine arts students have vivid imaginations. His religious studies grade is low — if he had an interest in religion, it would have been high. My client showed fatherly affection.' Since I couldn't get the floor, his statements stood as they were and the hearing was adjourned. I did not attend the second hearing. At the second hearing, this person had called a student from a teacher at the school, and this witness stated that I was someone prone to making false accusations. This child is also a student at our school. The judge said, 'G.A. should also come to the third hearing so they can confront each other.' At the third hearing, the audio recordings were reviewed, and at the end of the hearing the prosecutor requested an acquittal. I was so angry I was about to cry. I asked for the floor and said, 'What more do you want from me? What more can I do?' The judge then adjourned the hearing to deliver a verdict."

The sentencing hearing was adjourned to 3 June

The fourth and sentencing hearing will be held on 3 June. The child's family and lawyers are calling on the public for support and want the teacher suspected of sexually abusing the child to receive the punishment he deserves.

"AFTER ABUSING MY CLIENT, THE DEFENDANT SAYS 'FROM NOW ON YOU ARE MY DAUGHTER'"

G.A.'s lawyer Ramazan Taş made important statements to 12punto regarding the case file. Taş underlined that the fact that the defendant in the case is a religious culture teacher made the child's complaint process more difficult:

"In our case, the fact that the defendant is a religious culture teacher, combined with the fact that my client had previously received psychological support, created a bias in the prosecutor's mind. My client was unable to tell the police about the situation out of fear of facing a backlash from the teachers at the school, because it is truly very difficult to convince people that a religious culture teacher would do such a thing, and peer bullying is really very bad. Children can be very cruel.

Also, in the audio recording in the case file, after abusing my client, the defendant says, 'From now on you are my daughter.' This means he had not previously seen my client as his student. Because my client needed emotional support, while in N.G.'s company she was subjected to harassment, and the defendant was aware of this. He repeats this situation in his conversation and says, 'While you trusted me and saw me as a father, what I did was shameful.'

Lawyer Ramazan Taş, who also spoke about the upcoming hearing, is concerned that the defendant may be acquitted despite the fact that the victim G.A. recorded those moments and included the recording in the case file.

Taş finally stated that they hope a decision in line with the best interests of the child will emerge from the case file:

"We expect justice to be served at the sentencing hearing and for the defendant to be punished."