A British teacher started an 18—month jail sentence on Thursday for molesting a five—year—old girl during private lessons in Hong Kong.
Nigel Russell Harris, 43, pleaded guilty to two charges of indecent assault on the Chinese girl during English lessons at his flat in September.
Harris, who has lived in Hong Kong since 2007, was arrested after the girl refused to go to her lessons and broke down in front of her mother.
Hong Kong’s District Court was told that the girl’s mother alerted police after her daughter said, “Teacher always touches the lower part of my body.” The girl’s grandmother would take her to Harris’ home twice a week, but he taught her in a locked computer room while the grandmother waited outside, the court heard.
Harris received his prison sentence on Wednesday. Judge Stanley Chan also ordered him to receive psychological treatment during his detention.
Hong Kong, a former British colony, is home to around 25,000 British expatriates.