Conservatives are now claiming that touching children through clothing is no big deal. Maybe they will call for a review of the case of Gunther Fiek, serving 90 years without possibility of parole.
Called a witch hunt by some, the investigation started after a 6 year old boy was reprimanded by his parents and claimed his Karate teacher touched him.
Gunther Fiek, then a 30 year old newlywed from Peru, admitted he touched the children to check for cups and see if the young ones were wet. He claims there was nothing sexual about the contact.
From the Atlanta Journal Constitution:
[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 10.19.2001]
Convicted child molester: Contact incidental
Says it may have been inappropriate, but not sexualBy YOLANDA RODRIGUEZ
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff WriterJust days before his sentencing, convicted child molester Gunther Fiek acknowledged he may have "inappropriately" touched some of the boys in his martial arts classes.
T. LEVETTE BAGWELL / AJC
Gunther Fiek testifies during his September trial.
But the close physical contact was incidental and not for his sexual satisfaction, Fiek said from the Cobb County Jail, where he awaits sentencing Monday.
"The children are telling the truth as they see it," said Fiek, 30.
"I was probably more touchy with my students than I should have been. Maybe I did touch the kids in some way, maybe inappropriately. But it wasn't with intent or for sexual purposes."
Fiek was convicted by a Cobb Superior Court jury on Sept. 7 of three counts of aggravated child molestation and 18 counts of child molestation. The charges involved 20 children, his former students at Eastside Baptist Church's Christian Activity Center.
Each aggravated count carries a 10-year minimum and 30-year maximum prison sentence. Child molestation carries a sentence of five to 20 years.
He was acquitted of two child molestation charges, and one was dropped.
"I did play around with them, wrestle around with them," Fiek said. "I did have some kids who sat on my lap."
As he did during his testimony in his own defense, Fiek denied touching the boys' genitalia.
"That's the same thing he told the jury," said Cobb District Attorney Pat Head. "They didn't believe him. They believed the children."
Fiek was a Sunday school teacher, soccer coach and tae kwon do instructor who had taught about 3,000 children.
Fiek, who holds black belts in tae kwon do, karate, and judo said he liked to keep discipline in his classes. He wanted uniforms worn correctly, belts tied properly and T-shirts to be tucked in. He wanted the boys' protective cups to be on correctly when they sparred with each other.
"If I saw anything -- a belt not tied the proper way or a string hanging -- I just had to go and fix it. Some of the older kids would fix it themselves. The younger kids, I did it myself," Fiek said.
Sometimes the younger children would not go to the bathroom, even if he asked them if they needed to go. "I would check to see if they had wet themselves," he said.
All of it involved close physical contact.
"That's what I mean when I say the kids are being honest," he said.
But between classes, during breaks and warm-ups there was some horseplay.
The children would hug him, climb on his lap and tackle him. They would give him goodbye kisses. He kissed them on their foreheads, sometimes in front of their parents. Sometimes he gave the boys "wedgies" by pulling up on their underwear.
"Anything I ever did with any of the children, at least to my knowledge, never bothered any one."
The boys, ranging in age from 4 to 12, told jurors a different story. They said that Fiek put his hands down their pants and touched their genitals in the class or in a small equipment room. The abuse occured over a four-year period. Three said he put his mouth on their genitals. They said Fiek told them not to tell.
Anguished parents testified of scared little boys, who were at first reluctant to discuss what had happened. They said their sons entered therapy after the allegations surfaced.
The lives of the parents and Fiek changed one night last December.
One boy, who was six at the time, touched his sister inappropriately. When he was reprimanded by his mother, the boy told her that Mr. Gunther, as his students called him, "touched my private parts."
The panicked mother called other parents and contacted police. The church invited worried parents to meetings with officials. It sent letters home with children about the allegations.
One of the childrens' parents filed a civil lawsuit this month in Cobb State Court, claiming they are entitled to monetary damages as a result of Fiek's actions.
Fiek grew up Catholic, but did not attend Mass regularly. At Eastside Baptist Church, his life became imbued with God. He drew from scripture to teach his students when their martial arts classes became difficult.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," he would tell the youngsters, quoting from the New Testament book Philippians.
His faith in God, Fiek said, has not been shaken by the conviction. He is prepared for the sentence.
"God appoints a time for all things to occur," Fiek said.
From The Augusta Chronicle:
Teacher gets 90 years in molestation case
MARIETTA -A former martial arts instructor who had been convicted of molesting boys who were in his church-sponsored classes was sentenced Monday to 90 years in prison.
Gunther Fiek, 30, received 30 years in prison for each of three counts of aggravated child molestation. He also was sentenced to a 20-year term, to be served concurrently with the longer term, on child molestation charges.
Mr. Fiek was teaching tae kwon do lessons to almost 100 children at Eastside Baptist Church in Marietta when he was charged with molesting 22 boys, ages 4 to 12, between October 1996 and November 2000.
In his testimony, Mr. Fiek denied sexually touching any of the children.
The case began to unfold in December 2000, when a pupil touched his sister inappropriately. When he was reprimanded, the 7-year-old told his mother that Mr. Fiek had touched him.