Accused Burlington teacher Neil Bantleman goes before judge

A Burlington man held in Indonesia for over 140 days has finally gone before a judge to hear the charges against him.

Neil Bantleman is accused of sexually abusing a student at a prestigious international school, but he maintains he is innocent. a teaching assistance and five janitors are also accused of sexually abusing students at the school, which is attended by children of foreign diplomats, business people, and Indonesia’s elite.

Today Bantleman spoke to reporters in court, calling for justice in Indonesia’s judicial system. “As I told the Indonesian reporters, I just want the truth to be told.”

“It’s time for justice, it’s time to end corruption in this country. We need all the international help and assistance we can get. By exposing the truth, we can get justice and freedom.”

“We can go back to doing what we love, teaching. We can go back to our families.”

Earlier on News Now, Neil’s wife Tracy spoke with CHCH News to give an update on her husband’s first day in court.

“Today marks the first day of the trial for Neil, the indictment is read, the court is closed so for Neil and Ferdie (the co-accused) it’s just the lawyers and the judges and the prosecution that are present.”

“It took about 2 hours due to translation and Ferdie’s took about 40 minutes but I know Neil was able to speak in the courtroom today. He is confident, he felt that now that we started this trial that he can actually have a venue to speak the truth, the truth can be heard and we can move on with our lives.”

The men have been in custody since July. The trial is expected to begin in January and could last until April.