Neil Bantleman freed after sex assault conviction overturned by Indonesian court

On Friday, Indonesiafreed Canadian teacherNeil Bantlemanand an Indonesian teaching assistant, FerdinantTjiong,who had been jailed for sexually abusing students at an international school in a case critics say was fraught with irregularities and put the country's justice system under the spotlight.

• .NeilBantleman: Civil case against school thrown out in Jakarta court

"The truth has finally come out," a tearful Bantleman announced before kissing his wife upon his release from an East Jakarta prison, where he and Tjiong were met by dozens of cheering family members and supporters.

Bantleman, 45, andTjiongwere found guilty in April of abusing kindergarten students at the Jakarta Intercultural School (JIS). They had been sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined 100 million rupiah ($7,600 Cdn).The two menfiledappeals to the Jakarta High Courtin May.

The lawyer for both men, Hotman Paris Hutapea, saidFridaythat the court overturned both Bantleman and Tjiong's indecency convictions for raping three kindergarten students, now six and sevenyears old, at the international school.

"Justice has been done," Hutapea told The Associated Presson Friday.

The judge delivered the decision in closed court, said reporter JackHewson, who is covering the story from Jakarta for CBC News.

Hutapeabrought the written decisionto an awaitingmedia scrum and read back the findings which was not guiltybased on the revisions of the evidence against both men,Hewsonsaid.

"TracyBantlemanandFerdinantTjiong's wifeSiskaboth joinedHotmanParis [Hutapea]to announce the verdict, they were both extremely emotionaladdressing the crowd of journalists,"Hewsonsaid.

"Tracy saidjustice had finally been served and their husbands would be coming back to them where they belonged. She then broke down in tears."

Bantleman'sbrother GuyBantleman, who lives in Toronto, told CBC News late Thursdayevening that he had received confirmationthe convictions hadbeen overturned.

In an email on Friday morning, Guysaid the duo had been released and that the Bantlemanswill spend the next 72 hours away from the media spotlight.

After the weekend, he said, the family will determine next steps, including a possible appeal by the prosecutor to the supreme court in Indonesia.

Men always maintained innocence

Bantleman and Tjiongalwayssteadfastly maintained their innocence and were supported by fellow teachers and the principal at the Jakarta International School, now called the Jakarta Intercultural School.

Bantleman, a Burlington,Ont., nativewho used to teach at the Webber Academyin Calgary, has been behind bars in Jakarta since 2014 when the allegations were made.

NanMcKellar, who worked in Calgary withBantleman, said she was "so happy" with the news.

"You know what, at our rally a month ago, down at city hall, there was no conception, no idea that this could happen this soon," she said. "Oh my gosh."

"You would only have to be in a room with Neil for a minute to knowhe is the most upstanding straightforward, no pretension, nothing hiding kind of person you will ever meet. None of us ever had a doubtfor even a second," she added.

The Jakartaschool where heworked isattended by children of foreign diplomats, expatriates and Indonesia's elite. Ithas 2,400 students aged three to 18 from about 60countries.

Hutapea has said the rape claims were all about money.

The principal and a number of other teachers have alleged the same about the case. The parents of one of the children had sued the school for alleged negligence and were seeking $125 million in compensation.

Civil case thrown out

Buton Monday, the same district court threw out the civil case brought by the mother of one of the children against the school, saying it had not proven that any of the alleged abuses had actually taken place, since new evidence from medical reports from three different hospitals in Jakarta and Singapore showed no major injuries or abnormalities in the three children.

The decision came after a court in Singapore on July 16 ruled that thewoman accusing Bantleman had defamed him, Tjiong and the school because the allegations of sexual abuse could not be proven, and ordered the parent to pay a total of $164,700 in damages.

The case was brought in Singapore by Bantleman's family because the initial allegations were made in Singapore through emails, texts and otherdigital communications.

Hutapea said both decisions had an impact on the higher court's decision to free Bantleman and Tjiong. The arrests of Bantleman and Tjiong in July last year followed reports from the parents of a six-year-old boy who hadbeen sodomized three months earlier.

Four male janitors were sentenced to eight years in jail in that case, while a woman received seven years as an accomplice. Police said a sixth suspect killed himself in custody by drinking bathroom cleaner.

Hutapea said a copy of the higher court decision has to be taken to the district court to start the process of getting his clients released from prison.

Prosecutors, who could appeal the latest decision to the Supreme Court, could not be reached for comment.