By Thandiwe Mthethwa
Allegations of sexual assault surfaced on Thursday at a Durban school for children with special needs after a 12-year-old pupil told her parents she had been molested by a 56-year-old employee at the school.
On Thursday the girl's father said that when he came from Pietermaritzburg to pick up his daughter from the boarding facility and noticed that she was shivering and looking sickly.
After talking to her he decided to take her to the district surgeon "who told me that she had been molested".
"When I asked her who had done this to her she told me it was (someone at the school) and it had been going on for three to four months.
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"When I asked her why she had not spoken out earlier, she told me that she had told the teachers what had happened, but nothing was done about it. When I was speaking to the principal I could see that he knew about this and I am angry that no one did anything to help my child.
"She is so traumatised and I am taking her and her sister out of this school today. I hope parents will watch out for their kids as there is no telling how many more children he could have done this to," he said.
Police spokesperson Khephu Ndlovu confirmed a case of rape had been opened.
In a letter to the Daily News one of the staff at the school, who wished to remain anonymous, said the victim had told her about the incident on Monday, but that when it was reported to school management no action was taken.
The letter read: "She told me that the man had made her perform oral sex on him and asked her not to tell anyone. Management has been aware of this for weeks, but nothing was done about it. This is not the first time such allegations have surfaced against this man and I think there should be a deeper investigation into the school."
Education spokesperson Mbali Thusi appealed to parents to talk to their children and come forward with any information about the incident or other similar incidents.
"The employee is away from school because of the seriousness of the allegations and we had to take the safety of the pupils into consideration. The school is co-operating fully with police. These allegations are disheartening and disturbing," she said.
- This article was originally published on page 3 of Daily News on November 13, 2009
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