A Taiwanese primary school teacher who was found guilty of coercing one of her students into multiple acts of sexual intercourse, even bearing a child from one of their illicit encounters, has been sentenced to 17½ years in jail.

In a ruling released by a district court in Taoyuan on Thursday last week, the woman, surnamed Xu, was found guilty of nine counts of sexual intercourse that involved obscene sexual acts with an individual aged below 14.

The acts include two counts of forced intercourse over the course of around four months.

The local education board also dealt her a lifetime ban from teaching.

Xu was the boy’s form teacher when he was in his fifth and sixth year of primary school. Their sexual relationship began in his final year, in February 2020.

According to accounts from the boy, who was not identified, Xu would text him on a messaging app or tell other subject teachers to keep him after class.

She would then ask him to meet her in a room, where she would instruct him to undress for the purpose of having sex.

He said although he felt resistance within him during their first illicit encounter, they went on to have unprotected sex in the room, which was locked with poster-covered windows.

The second encounter was just a week later, and followed a similar protocol.

“I felt it was not very normal to do this with my teacher, but it felt good, so I still wanted to have sex with her,” the boy told prosecutors.

Prosecutors said the boy’s testimony matched with those of witnesses, including teachers whom Xu asked to make the victim stay back after class, as well as his descriptions of the places where the sexual acts took place.

The immorality came to light in September 2020 when the boy’s father discovered his son’s close relationship with the teacher and made a police report. At that time, the boy was already a junior high school student.

Xu was suspended by her school after the police report was made.

In her defence, Xu told prosecutors that she had just one sexual encounter with the boy, who was taller and heavier, and that he was the one who had forced her into having sex with him.

“I was pushed to the ground and hit my head, at one point losing my consciousness,” Xu said, referring to an encounter in May 2020. “I didn’t know what happened at the time, but felt paralysed. When I woke up, my lower body was in pain and bleeding, and I realised what he had done to me.”

She added that that was the only time they had sex and he got her pregnant. She also accused the boy of making up the other sexual encounters.

Taoyuan prosecutors said investigators determined that there was a 99 per cent chance that the student was the father of her child after conducting DNA tests on samples obtained from items used by the baby, including milk bottles and a baby pacifier.

The district court judges said in their ruling that Xu had made use of her student for her desires and forcibly engaged him in obscene sexual activities by taking advantage of his immature understanding of romantic and sexual relationships.

Xu may appeal the judgment within 20 days from Nov 9, the day she was sentenced.