Teacher's sexual abuse case postponed

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Children's rights groups have called on police to swiftly complete their investigation into claims that a well-known Plettenberg Bay teacher sexually assaulted a ten-year-old boy in his class as they fear the matter could be withdrawn if not wrapped up soon.

This after the matter against the 42-year-old teacher, who cannot be named until he has pleaded, was postponed for a final time for further investigation on Tuesday, August 18.

The reason the investigation has not been completed is because two witness statements as well as a social worker's report were still outstanding – more than a month after the matter was postponed to Tuesday in part for obtaining these documents.

"We are shocked to learn that the investigation has not been completed and that these statements are still outstanding. We demand that police investigating the matter obtain these statements immediately as this puts the case at risk of being thrown out of court. We cannot have the case be withdrawn due to technicalities like these," Women and Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA) spokesman Joanne Barrett said yesterday.

Local children's rights group Plett Green Hearts spokesman Magriet Ferreira agreed and added that it was not in the interest of the child victim to have the case delayed any further.

"We view these allegations in an extremely serious light and trust top priority for the child's best interests will be given by our justice system. It seems the rights of the accused are placed above that of the child victim, which we find totally unacceptable'," Barrett added.

"Molestation is a life-changing experience for children and only people who have been abused can understand the impact of sexual abuse. No child wants to be abused. Those who do not understand the psychological manipulation that goes along with sexual abuse fail to empathise with survivors and often defend shame, rather than the survivor."

She added that child abuse and sex scandals involving top influential community members were not a new phenomenon. "And yet communities still lean over backwards to protect them, even when faced with the most appalling allegations.

"There is no excuse for child abuse and we stand by our demands, no bail for child abusers."

On Tuesday, the teacher's lawyer John Gillespie urged the court to postpone the matter for a final time for further investigation as the two witness statements had already been outstanding when his client was released on bail on July 3. The matter was therefore postponed until November 5.

The teacher was arrested on June 22 after the Grade 2 learner's guardian reported the alleged incidents to police.

Police said the boy's guardian suspected something was amiss when the boy suddenly started wetting his bed. After play therapy with the boy, he revealed to her that the suspect had allegedly sexually assaulted him on two occasions during May. The incidents allegedly happened once at a swimming pool and on another occasion at the accused's home.

After a lengthy bail application the teacher was released on R3 000 bail under strict conditions, including that he may not access the school premises.

* In the meantime the 37-year-old Plettenberg Bay computer engineer, accused of being linked to a horrific international baby pornography network, briefly appeared in the Knysna Regional Court on Friday, August 14.

The local man, who cannot be named until he has pleaded, was arrested on January 13 after international police swooped on his Plett home following a lengthy investigation by Belgian and South African police. He was tracked down after his internet address was found on an obscure online chat room for alleged paedophiles with fetishes including the sexual abuse of babies in nappies.

The matter was however postponed for a second time for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to make a decision on whether the matter would be heard in a high or a regional court. The accused will have to be back in the dock on September 9. His bail has been extended.

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ARTICLE: YOLANDé STANDER

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