Torre del Mar sexual abuse case: ‘Mentally ill’ teacher confesses after handing himself in

A TEACHER accused of sexually abusing three girls at the Custodio Puga school in Torre del Mar, Malaga, has admitted to committing a string of other offences.

The 40-year-old man handed himself back in to police a day after being released following an initial round of questions.

He claimed that an overwhelming sense of guilt forced him to return, telling investigators that he had experienced “a change in conscience” during which he realised that his problem requires treatment.

During a lengthy interview at the provincial police headquarters, he revealed that he had abused a number of other girls, all aged between 10 and 11, at other schools in Malaga province .

He then indicated that he is mentally ill and expressed his wishes to go to jail to be cured, so has been imprisoned without bail as he awaits trial.

The man was originally arrested after police received a tip-off from one of the victim’s mothers, resulting in an investigation during which a colleague observed him with a second girl in an area of the school that is not used for teaching.

The news of his confession has raised alarm among parents at the school, while regional Education councillor, Patricia Alba, said that he has committed “disgusting acts which have no place in our schools.”