A 50-year-old, self-proclaimed "Buddha" was sentenced to eight years behind bars for raping a teenage girl and a 21-year-old woman last month.
During the day, the alleged "living Buddha Maitreya" Gou Shunqi taught his followers Buddhism and acupuncture at his courtyard in Tongzhou district. But at night, he abused his position as a teacher to take advantage of his female students.
"We've failed to track down his other female followers," an official at the Tongzhou district court told the Global Times. "But the evidence and testimony by these two victims are concrete"
During the process of "teaching," he forced a woman surnamed Gu to have sex with him, telling her that it would "strengthen her physical ability to conquer illness." Later, he raped a 16-year-old teenage follower, threatening that if she didn't do what he wanted, her family would be in danger.
The Tongzhou district court found Gou guilty of rape, though he continued to profess his innocence, said the report.
"Nowadays, there have been some rape cases occurring under the banner of health care, superstition or Qi Gong," the court official said. "People should be cautious."
Li Yinhe, a famous sexologist and professor in the Institute of Sociology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, thought that proper sex education in middle schools should be reinforced, as it "can help with reducing such cases from happening in our country."
Li explained, "In most underage rape cases, those children don't understand what sex really is. Middle school teachers shouldn't ignore sex education."
She suggested that parents and local communities should also pay attention to children's psychological status and strengthen their understanding of sex, especially when they reach pu-berty. "Thus, children can better protect themselves."
Li further pointed out, "Our society should also promote the struggle against blind superstitions as well, since they could be used by some ill-intentioned people as a tool."
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