CHINA. DEATH FOR TEACHER CONVICTED OF RAPE

Li Guang, a teacher in western China convicted of raping 23 girls in his office was sentenced to death. Parents and students in Xinji village in Gansu Province said in interviews that Li had sent girls to buy him cigarettes and, when they returned, raped them in his office while the rest of the students held a study hall in the classroom. The attacks occurred in 2004 from September through November, and parents said the girls never spoke out because of their deference toward Li as a teacher.