Neil Bantleman update

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Today marks the two year anniversary of Neil Bantleman’s incarceration in Indonesia for child sexual abuse. Bantleman has maintained his innocence and his family and friends have set up vigils for the Burlington teacher in two cities across the country.

Neil has been found guilty of sexually assaulting three boys at the Jakarta International school where he worked, acquitted of those crimes and then sent back to prison again adding an extra year to his 10 year sentence. Chris McGaffin worked with Neil at the school in Indonesia. He went to the prison to visit Bantleman last year and today he stood outside the Indonesian consulate in Toronto making sure Bantleman’s case is not forgotten.

“It’s a marathon, it’s gone on two years and I think that it’s hard, you keep waiting and it’s a waiting game and so they are just hoping that by Christmas time perhaps he will be free.”

But legal experts believe that’s highly unlikely. Bantleman’s acquittal was overturned by the Supreme Court earlier this year in February. Nearly 5 months later he’s still awaiting the latest decision in writing that will explain why exactly he was sent back to prison.

A former Australian detective with three decades of experience in the child exploitation and sexual crimes unit reviewed the evidence and says it’s a case of biased adults putting stories into the minds of children. He has called on the United Nations to conduct an independent investigation into Neil’s case, a promising sign for the Bantleman family.