An American teacher at an elite French school in Shanghai has been arrested on suspicion of molesting “several” students.
Chinese authorities Thursday formally arrested David McMahon on charges of child molestation, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
He is accused of molesting four girls and two boys, aged 6 to 10, who are all foreign nationals attending the Lycee Francais de Shanghai.
He was detained on May 13 after one of the children and her parents reported to police that she had been molested by McMahon several times.
According to AFP, seven families had filed formal accusations against the kindergarten teacher, alleging sexual abuse and rape of students of both sexes.
McMahon reportedly took the children to the school library or open, empty spaces on the pretext of checking their homework, before forcing them to take their clothes off and molesting them, South China Morning Post reports.
China has been grappling with a recent spate of child sex abuse cases allegedly involving school teachers or employees, sparking public outcry. A former teacher at the school, also American, was extradited to the US on similar charges.
