Told to 'Seek Special Permission' While Being Abused, Female Worker at Islamic Boarding School Reports Ashari to Police

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PATI — The founder of the Ndholo Kusumo Islamic Boarding School in Pati Regency, Central Java, Ashari bin Karsana, has been reported to the police again in a similar case, namely sexual violence. The complainant is a woman with the initials S (35) who was once one of his followers.

S reported the alleged sexual violence case by Ashari to the Pati Police on Thursday, May 14, 2026. S’s legal counsel is Muhammad Burhanuddin Ghufron, who is also a member of the Pati Santri Alliance for Democracy (Aspirasi). “We have reported it to the Pati Police yesterday, Thursday, May 14, 2026,” said Burhanuddin in an interview on Friday, May 15, 2026.

Burhanuddin said that S was not actually a student at the Ndholo Kusumo Islamic Boarding School. However, his client’s residence is close to the Islamic boarding school, namely in Tlogosari Village, Tlogowungu District. S knew Ashari from her older brother and sister-in-law who were also Ashari’s followers. At that time, S was still in high school.

According to Burhanuddin, after getting to know and becoming a follower of Ashari, S actively helped with domestic work in the Ndholo Kusumo Islamic Boarding School, such as washing clothes, ironing, and so on. The sexual violence experienced by S occurred between 2013-2014, when she was in her 20s.

Burhanuddin revealed that at that time, S had been indoctrinated and was under Ashari’s control. “He (Ashari) tried to portray himself as a good father figure, a good father, a good religious leader. After that, the emotional bond began to form. From there, whenever something happened, the victim had to ask permission from AS (Ashari’s initials) first. Even though AS has no family ties with our client,” he said.