Prosecutor Delays Reading Of JE's Charges Defendant Of Obscene SPI In Batu City

The atmosphere in front of the Cakra Courtroom where the trial of the sexual violence case with the alleged JE was held, at the Malang District Court, East Java, Wednesday (20/7/2022). ANTARA/Vicki Febrianto

MALANG - The trial for reading the charges for the sexual violence case that occurred at the Indonesian Good Morning School (SPI) Batu City, East Java with the defendant JE, has been postponed for one week.

Public Prosecutor, Edi Sutomo, at the Malang District Court, East Java, said the postponement was to add a juridical analysis based on the facts of the existing trial.

"We have decided to postpone the lawsuit. There is still additional juridical analysis based on the facts of the existing trial," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, July 20.

He explained that the addition of a juridical analysis based on the facts of the trial was to make the panel of judges more convincing and so that the demands made against JE could be more complete.

Edi said that the decision to postpone the reading of the charges was made after the prosecution team examined the indictment file. The hearing for the reading of the demands will be held on July 27, 2022, which will begin at approximately 10.00 WIB.

"Until midnight, we as public prosecutors checked the file of demands. The addition of the juridical analysis was carried out to make the judge more convincing and more perfect in his demands," he said.

According to Edi, JE will not be present at the Malang District Court at the trial reading the charges. The defendant will attend the online trial from the Malang Class IA Prison.

"The trial was online. Previously it was present because at that time there was no detention. Now it has entered the Lowokwaru Prison, Malang. Earlier the defendant also appeared on the screen," he said.

Meanwhile, JE's attorney, Hotma Sitompul, said that the delay in reading the charges for one week proved that the prosecutor really paid attention to the facts revealed at the trial.

"We see a file as high as this, it is only natural that the prosecutor asks for a delay to study it better, so that justice can be achieved," said Hotma.

The 20th trial of the alleged sexual violence case with the defendant, the owner of the Batu City SPI School, which was planned to enter the agenda for reading the demands, was marked by demonstrations by hundreds of people in front of the Malang District Court building.

The action was carried out by a number of child protection NGOs, sympathizers and a number of elements of society who demanded justice for the victims of the alleged sexual violence case.

The defendant JE is currently being held at the Malang Penitentiary since July 11, 2022. The District Attorney's Office of Batu City has ensnared JE, who is the owner of the Indonesian Good Morning School, with an alternative article and faces a minimum prison sentence of three years and a maximum of 15 years.