Music teacher up for sexual assault
A former music teacher at a top Constantia private school is set to go on trial on charges of sexual assault involving young boys.
|||Cape Town - A former male music teacher at a top private school is set to go on trial in the Wynberg Regional Court on charges of sexual assault involving boys at the school, aged between 9 and 10.
The 32-year-old, who taught at Reddam House in Constantia, may not be named until he pleads to the charges. He appeared in the Wynberg District Court on Tuesday.
At the request of prosecutor Mtuyedwa Zondi, the case was postponed to October 12, when the man will be informed of the date on which he has to make his first appearance in the regional court.
According to the court record, the teacher was arrested on July 21, and made his first appearance in the district court the next day.
At his first court appearance, he was granted bail of R2 000.
The conditions of bail were that he may not communicate, directly or indirectly, with any of the teachers at Reddam School, nor with the parents of any pupils at the school.
Other conditions were that he has to report to the police on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, that he surrender his passport to the investigating officer, and that he may not go to the Tokai residential area.
At his bail proceedings, he said he would plead not guilty to the charges.
When the Cape Argus broke the story in July, a close relative of one of the victims – who cannot be named to protect the identity of the boy – said it had been a difficult time for the families.
“This is not something you want your children to go through especially not at school, where they should be protected”.
Parents were informed about the developments and the action taken by the school against the teacher, via a circular.
A parent, who brought the circular to the Cape Argus’s attention, expressed concern that the school was quick to distance itself from the incident and the teacher in question.
In the circular the school informed the parents about the alleged incidents that had taken place at the school involving a “small group of children” in the preparatory school.
At the time, Reddam House confirmed that it had terminated the contract of one of its independent music service providers with immediate effect following allegations of inappropriate conduct.
“Reddam House takes these allegations seriously. The FCS (Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit) of the police is currently conducting an investigation and the individual concerned has been arrested and charged; a legal process will follow,” Sheena Crawford-Kempster, the managing director of Reddam House, said.
ANA and Cape Argus