By Mashamba Media
news@alexreporter.co.za
A 34-year-old former teacher from St Mary’s Diocesan School for Girls in Pretoria was granted R10 000 bail by the Pretoria Magistrates Court, sitting at Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Services.
The former teacher faces charges of rape, sexual assault, and sexual grooming.
It is alleged that when the former teacher was employed as a teacher at St Mary’s Diocesan School for Girls between 2017 and 2018, he raped, sexually assaulted, and sexually groomed a grade 5 learner, at the school during swimming lessons and when he was giving her extra classes.
At the time of the alleged incidents, the learner was between 10 and 11 years old.
NPA spokesperson, Lumka Mahanjana alleged that the child only realised that what was done to her was wrong, after she attended sexual offence classes in 2019.
“Thereafter it is alleged that the child started to misbehave and self-harm by cutting herself. After the mother noticed the behaviour charges and enquired, the child then disclosed to the mother what had happened.
“She then took the child to a social worker in 2019, and she was later referred to a forensic social worker in 2023, after which a case was opened with the police in Cape Town, and was transferred to Brooklyn Police Station,” said Mahanjana.
Mahanjana said through his attorney, the former teacher asked to be released on bail, because he had no previous conviction nor pending cases.
He also told the court that he cooperated with the state by handing himself over to the police, when he realised that the police were looking for him and he also handed in his passport.
“The state however opposed his bail application and told the court that should the former teacher be convicted, he would face a long jail term.
“Furthermore, the former teacher was a flight risk, since he had no assets in South Africa, and it would be difficult to trace him since he is also unemployed should he decide to skip the country,” said Mahanjana.
In delivering the judgment the court granted him bail with conditions that he should report to his closest police station three times a week, and that he should not interfere directly or indirectly with state witnesses.
The matter was postponed to 27 March 2024, for further investigations.
