HEFEI - A school principal was jailed for 18 years for raping and molesting girls in Qianshan county in East China's Anhui province, a local court said on Tuesday.

Yang Qifa, 59-year-old principal of Tianming Primary School, was guilty of raping two girls several times and molesting seven other girls on dozens of occasions from 2001 to 2012, the Qianshan County People's Court said.

Yang abused the girls at various places, including classrooms, offices, his home or at the girl's house.

Yang was punished severely as his deeds seriously hurt the physical and mental health of the young girls, as well as damaged the school's reputation, said the court.

Yang appealed against the sentence in court.

The sexual assault case is the latest to be reported involving primary schools recently, arousing public concerns about teachers' misconduct and safety of students.

Sources with the Supreme People's Court said in May that courts would crack down on crimes against juveniles, show minimal tolerance toward such offenders and offer the greatest level of protection to children.