Gogounou: five-year prison sentence for a teacher found guilty of sexual harassment

Aged 29, the teacher was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, together with a fine of 500,000 CFA francs, for acts deemed particularly serious by the competent court.

According to the evidence presented during the trial, the accused abused an 18-year-old female student inside the very school she attended.

In addition to the custodial sentence, the court also imposed a formal ban on engaging in any teaching activity for a period of five years. This supplementary measure will take effect upon the completion of the principal sentence, thereby strengthening the deterrent effect of the sanction.

Through this decision, the judiciary aims not only to sanction conduct that is criminally punishable, but also to strongly reaffirm the moral, professional, and ethical responsibilities borne by those in the education system. It is above all intended to safeguard the integrity of learners and to affirm that the school can in no case become a place of predation or abuse of power.