A detailed report on a rugby camp in March in which a Cape Town teenager was allegedly assaulted with a broomstick by his teammates is being studied by the provincial education department and its lawyers.
It is alleged that the schoolboys assaulted their 16-year-old teammate after a night of alcohol abuse and the boy’s father has accused the school’s governing body of trying to laugh off the incident as a “prank”.
To protect his identity, the victim and his parents cannot be named. He attended Edgemead High School, and had been invited to attend a first team rugby camp and match at Velddrif on the West Coast.
Police initially declined to prosecute. Police spokesman Andre Traut said: “The completed case docket was presented to the senior state prosecutor, who declined to prosecute… The case was subsequently withdrawn.”
A fortnight later, after the boy’s parents went public with details of his ordeal, Traut said the incident was being reinvestigated. At the same time the education department confirmed that Dr Hein Brand, director of the Metropole North Education District, was leading an investigation.
Department spokesman Paddy Attwell said on Wednesday the investigation was being studied by the department’s senior managers and its legal advisers.
Meanwhile, the father has expressed dismay at a statement issued on May 11 by “Mrs L Smith, chairperson of Edgemead High School’s Governing Body”.
The statement included the lines: “In the early hours of Sunday morning (March 18) certain… pupils took it upon themselves to prank a fellow pupil,” and: “Despite media coverage alleging criminal acts on the part of the pupils, no such evidence was forthcoming in the investigation…”
In response, the father said: “It would appear the media release had three objectives: to downplay the severity of the incident; discredit any allegations of wrongful conduct on the part of the pupils; and defend the inadequate intervention, investigation and remedial steps taken by the sports administrator, the principal and, ultimately, the governing body.
“To have Mrs Smith repeatedly refer to this incident as a mere teenage prank is utterly unacceptable and inexcusable. Over the course of the weekend in question my son was a victim of a number of acts of school bullying… in direct contravention of Western Cape Education Department rules and regulations. Mrs Smith is acutely aware of this, hence her clever play on words.
“This bullying was not limited to, but included actions and simulations of a sexual nature…
“He was subjected to extreme embarrassment and shame in a hostile, abusive and intimidating environment. This severely compromised his safety and dignity,” the father said.
Cape Argus