Đỗ Văn Nam, a school security guard in Lào Cai Province has been arrested after being accused of sexually assaulting several children. – Photo laodong.com.vn

LÀO CAI (VNS) – A school security guard in Lào Cai Province has been arrested after being accused of sexually assaulting several children.

Mường Khương District Police on Wednesday issued a three-month arrest warrant for Đỗ Văn Nam, from Hà Nam Province, for further investigation of the large-scale sexual abuse reported at the La Pan Tẩn boarding primary school.

The 34-year-old man reportedly told police that he had sexually assaulted several students between the ages of six and 11 since 2014. His alleged crimes were discovered early last month.

Taking advantage of being a security guard and having his own room, Nam allegedly used snacks and candy as bait to lure the children into the room and sexually attacked them. Police said he threatened them and told them not to tell anyone about his crimes.

The abuses were detected only when two fifth-grade students, who were too scared after Nam’s alleged abuse, refused to go to school. After learning of the security guard’s lewd acts involving their children, the students’ parents reported Nam to the school and the police.

After the news broke, other victims also came to the police to report Nam’s alleged crimes.

Police said about 14 children -- all from ethnic minority groups -- were reportedly victims.

Nam faces a jail sentence of three to seven years, if convicted.

La Pan Tẩn School Principal Cao A Củi said on Wednesday that all the molested children had started attending school again. The school management board also worked with students’ parents to come up with better safety measures to protect the children from similar crimes in the future.

The arrest of Nam came a day after a famous Vietnamese entertainer Hồng Minh Quang – who goes by the stage name Minh Béo – was jailed in the United States for several felony counts of minor sexual assaults. He could be sentenced to nearly six years in jail, if convicted.

A recent police report shows that there were 5,300 cases of child sexual abuse in Việt Nam in the last five years. – VNS