Police in southwest China's Yunnan Province said Saturday they had detained a primary school teacher after locals accused him of sexual harassment or molestation of several girls in his class.

The suspect, surnamed Zhang, who has been a teacher at a primary school in Zhaotong City for more than two decades, was reported by parents to have targeted at least seven female students between the ages of eight and 10.

One of the victims went to a local hospital on Dec. 7 after suffering abdominal pain for days and was diagnosed with gynecological diseases and a broken hymen, suggesting that she might have been raped.

Parents also said the teacher had close bonds with nearly all seven girls. "Some called him 'uncle,' and another girl even called him 'grandfather,'" said a relative of one of the victims.

Following the allegations, some local middle-aged women also claimed that they had been victims of Zhang's sexual impropriety when they were in his class, which, if proved true, could stretch the suspect's criminal history to more than two decades.

Duan Changqing, the primary school's principal, was surprised to learn that Zhang had been detained for alleged sexual harassment and molestation.

"He has been a very timid but hard-working guy," the principal said. "It's unimaginable that he did this." Endi

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