A former school principal and a former government official convicted of raping underage girls in Hainan Province were sentenced to prison by the provincial No.1 intermediate people's court after Thursday's trial.

Chen Zaipeng, a former principal, and Feng Xiaoson, a former housing bureau official, were given a 13-years-and-a-half and an 11-years-and-a-half sentence respectively on charges of raping six elementary students in two hotels in Wanning in May, said the court.

"To protect the privacy of those girls, the court was not open to the public," a court official, who required anonymity, told the Global Times Thursday.

The case came to the spotlight after the six girls were reported missing on May 8. An investigation showed that Chen spent the night of May 8 with four girls, while Feng was with the other two.

Those girls had all suffered injuries to their genitals when they were found.

"Since the sexual organs of underage girls are still immature, as long as the suspects' sex organs touch that of the girls, it is an accomplished offense of rape," Wu Di, a lawyer specializing in criminal law from the Shanghai Heng Ye Law Firm, told the Global Times, adding that a sentence of over 10 years, or even capital punishment, will be issued once someone is convicted of the serious crime of raping girls under 14.

"The judge would also consider the deep psychological impact," he said.  

Li Xingong, a former senior official with the CPC Yongcheng Committee in Henan Province, was executed on Tuesday for raping 11 underage girls.

A series of child molestation cases committed by government officials or school teachers have stirred sentiment in the country, with the public demanding more protection to minors and severe sentences given to those convicted of offenses.

The Supreme People's Court has ordered lower courts to implement harsher punishment of crimes such as child molestation according to the law, and to stick to the principle of "minimum tolerance and maximum protection."