Lawyer: Islamic Boarding School Leader Sexually Abused Female Students, Vanished for Three Years Before Becoming Religious Preacher

LBH Pro Ummat has revealed that an Islamic boarding school (ponpes) run by an individual accused of sexually abusing female students appears to be unregistered with the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag). Additionally, the school leader’s background suggests he never received formal pesantren education.

Rangga Suria Danuningrat, the lawyer representing the victims’ parents, stated that the boarding school leader accused of sexual harassment against female students is not a pesantren graduate. Furthermore, he has obtained information indicating that the individual was formerly a petty criminal.

“According to local residents, he was indeed a thug. He suddenly disappeared for three years and came back as a religious preacher,” the lawyer said when contacted on Friday (27 February 2026).

In the initial stages of his presence, the lawyer noted that the individual was welcomed by the local community. They even supported him by providing wakaf (endowed) land to establish the Islamic boarding school.

“Initially, residents pooled contributions of up to 12 million rupiah, then submitted a proposal to get 500 million rupiah from Arab [sources]. It developed and many students registered. It kept growing with assistance from various sources,” he explained.