Egypt’s Public Prosecution has charged four employees at Seeds International School in Salam City with the kidnapping and sexual assault of at least five kindergarten-aged children, in what authorities are calling one of the most disturbing child abuse cases to emerge from Egypt’s education system in recent years.
Prosecutors stated Monday that the accused lured the children into a secluded, unsupervised room on campus and assaulted them over a period spanning more than a year. The assaults were reportedly carried out under the threat of violence, specifically by brandishing a knife to silence the children.
Under Article 289 of Egypt’s Penal Code, the combined crimes of child abduction and sexual assault are punishable by life imprisonment or death.
The investigation—filed under case no. 5122/2025—featured testimony from five survivors and their guardians. All accounts aligned, the accused enticed the children under the guise of play, then molested and threatened them into silence.
Two of the four defendants confessed to prosecutors that they and their colleagues had been assaulting children at the school for over a year, citing a shared “sexual obsession with minors.”
Digital evidence retrieved from the suspects’ phones reportedly confirmed their pattern of abuse. Authorities ordered the four detained pending further investigation.
A knife believed to have been used in the assaults was recovered from the scene. Prosecutors have requested full forensic examinations of both the children and the accused. Surveillance equipment and digital storage devices were sent to the Technical Assistance Department for data recovery, including deleted files.
Prosecutors also interviewed school staff to assess child supervision protocols and individual responsibilities. A parallel inquiry is ongoing into the school’s failure to prevent endangerment of minors.
The incident triggered public outrage after several parents accused staff at Seeds International School of sexually abusing children, prompting calls for immediate intervention.
On Saturday, Egypt’s Ministry of Education placed the school under full administrative and financial control and referred senior staff for legal disciplinary action. On Sunday, the ministry announced sweeping new protocols intending to curb this phenomenon in the future, including installing surveillance equipment and requiring the presence of female staff around children at all times.
Sexual abuse in Egyptian schools has drawn increased public attention in recent years, that the Higher Administrative Court itself emphasized its severity in 2020. The court upheld the dismissal of a teacher found to have sexually harassed 120 female students in Alexandria. In its ruling, the court pointed to shortcomings in the state’s efforts to protect children and called for stronger institutional safeguards.
Just last week, a Beheira appeals court reduced the sentence of an 80 year-old private school accountant from life in prison to 10 years after convicting him of repeatedly sexually assaulting a kindergarten student using force and threats. The case has drawn national attention since it surfaced in April.
