Iran's Supreme Court has overturned the death sentence of a football coach accused of sexually assaulting eight boys with a retrial set to commence after winning an appeal.
The accused, 40, was convicted of assaulting several teenage boys under the pretext of teaching football and consequently given a death sentence in a court in Tehran last year.
The boys, who were 12 and 13 years old, said the coach lured them to his house for football training. Victims claim he forced them to have sexual relations with each other, then filmed and blackmailed them, according to Iranian media outlets.
One of the students' fathers reported the coach to the police, stating: “Not long after my son's registration, I noticed his behavior had changed. His behavior had become aggressive, nervous, and withdrawn.
“After following the story with my wife, my son revealed a terrible secret that shocked us: the coach took him to his house and abused him there."
In the aftermath of the first complaint, seven other individuals reported similar experiences with the abuser.
In court, the coach denied any wrongdoing. The Tehran judges, however, found him guilty of rape and sentenced him to death. A lawyer for the defendant objected to the court's decision, arguing that he had not committed any rape but admitted sexual assault. Iran's Supreme Court subsequently reversed the death sentence, and the accused will now be retried.
