A Korean-American taekwondo instructor found guilty of molesting teenage girls has sparked controversy over claims that he could teach children again.
Judge Panteha Saban from a Santa Clara County Superior Court ordered Suh to register as a sex offender for 10 years and complete a sex offender treatment program on September 23. He can continue coaching children at his martial arts studio if an adult is present. Judge Saban, said, “You must notify the students and parents of your registration status.”
According to KRON4 news, the judge also imposed a criminal protective order barring Suh from contacting victims.
He previously pleaded no contest to misdemeanor child molestation in exchange for the court dropping felony charges.
“My daughters thought of him as a big brother, not just a taekwondo instructor,” said Marie Mabanag, the victims’ mother. He said Suh would go camping with the children and sleep in the same tent with them. “They would watch movies in his apartment when they should have been training in taekwondo,” she said.
The parents of the molestation victims said the most shocking thing was that he was allowed to continue teaching taekwondo.
KRON4 reached out to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office about the case, but they did not elaborate on why Suh was allowed to continue teaching children, the station reported.
BY YOUNGNAM KIM [kim.youngnam@koreadaily.com]
