Cape Town - Convicted paedophile Brian Shofer, who was arrested and charged with child rape this week, following a Weekend Argus exposé, was found hanged in the Lentegeur Police Station holding cells on Friday as investigators prepared to add more sex offence charges.
Shofer apparently tore a piece off the blanket provided, and used it to hang himself.
He has had been in custody since Monday.
Aside from the child rape case against him, which was registered in Mitchells Plain, Weekend Argus has reliably learnt more victims had come forward and that police were in the process of registering the following charges:
A sexual assault and a rape case in Steenberg.
A rape case in Steenberg,* a sexual assault case in Mitchells Plain.
A sexual assault case in Hanover Park., and* a sex assault case in Hanover Park.
Police were also following up leads that Shofer had sexually abused street children in Strand, where he used to live.
He was to have appeared again in the Mitchells Plain Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Andre Traut confirmed that Shofer died in the police station’s holding cells.
He said that, since Shofer was in police custody at the time, his death is the subject of an Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) investigation.
Ipid spokesperson Robbie Raburabu confirmed this, saying a post-mortem would be conducted on Shofer’s body
He said Shofer was found dead around lunch time on Friday.
Shofer was arrested on Monday, the day after - the day after Weekend Argus broke the news that he had placed an advertisement on Gumtree offering private tutoring to children in all grades.
He admitted to Weekend Argus he tutored children from grades 2 to 11, but claimed he was fully rehabilitated and had received the best treatment in prison.
He attempted to bargain with Weekend Argus, offering to stop teaching children if publication was halted and, when his offer was refused, he threatened legal action.
However, once he was exposed in the newspaper, an 18-year-old alleged victim came forward.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority PA’s Western Cape spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, the teen was raped for six years, from the age of 12. Shofer was released from prison six years ago.
“We will have to consult with the victim first to establish the number of (rape) counts,” Ntabazalila said.
However, the investigation came to an abrupt halt on Friday when they discovered that Shofer was dead.
This week the provincial education department confirmed that Shofer had been employed at Lourier Primary School in Retreat from April to June, despite his history of paedophilia.
He was appointed by the school’s governing body, and not the department of education.
Department spokeswoman Millicent Merton said told Weekend Argus that details of teachers found guilty of sexual abuse were recorded on the government’s employee records system, Persal, which was checked before appointments are made.
Those found guilty of sexual abuse would not be employed and were, in fact, removed from the national register of professional teachers, she said.
Weekend Argus