The 37-year-old teacher is being probed for allegedly mistreating pupils at Don Giorgio Belliardo school in Costigliole di Saluzzo, a village close to Turin.
Prosecutors opened an investigation after parents of around ten pupils, aged ten to 14, reported the teacher for abuse.
Responding to the news the village mayor, Milva Rinaudo, said she was “shocked” by the accusations. Rinaudo, a fellow teacher, said she had not been aware of any abuse allegations.
“I would not have hesitated to take the initiative and most appropriate action; other than a teacher I’m also a mother,” she was quoted in La Repubblica as saying.
“My thoughts are with the students: their protection always comes first. But for now, while awaiting more specific information, I don’t know what to think,” the mayor said.
The investigation comes a year after a teacher from another school in the village was jailed for sexually abusing students. In a plea bargain Valter Giordano received a two-year prison sentence and a teaching ban for sexually abusing two of his students, La Repubblica reported.
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