Johannesburg - A Soweto primary school teacher has been arrested for allegedly raping a 10-year-old.
The child’s offence, according to police, was to have allegedly damaged a textbook.
For that, he was ordered to stay behind, for “detention” that afternoon.
Instead, the teacher took him to an empty classroom and forced him onto his lap on Wednesday afternoon.
The incident happened at Sedibathuto Primary School in Mapetla, Soweto.
On Thursday morning, police arrived at the school to conduct an arrest. The teacher was detained shortly after 9am.
He was expected to make his first appearance at the Protea Magistrate’s Court on Friday to face a rape charge.
According to Gauteng Department of Education spokeswoman Phumla Sekhonyane, the department has initiated a process to suspend the teacher.
Department officials had arrived at the school to provide necessary support and counselling to the victim.
The victim’s mother became wary when the boy arrived home a bit later than usual on Wednesday.
“The boy failed to reply to his mother, who had asked him what was wrong. He looked distressed,” said police spokesman Captain Mpande Khoza. But the boy opened up once a third person, who is closer to him, arrived.
“He then related the story to both his mother and the other person,” added Khoza.
According to information received by the police, there were two children who had been told to stay after school for detention.
The teacher let the other pupil go and the alleged victim was told to stay behind.
Khoza said a guard at the school had warned the teacher that the principal needed all children to go home immediately after school.
Khoza said the teacher had told the school security guard that he was “in control of the situation”.
The boy’s father refused to speak to The Star on Thursday.
However, the boy’s paternal grandmother said they were angered by the incident.
Last month, a Hyde Park teacher was arrested and granted bail after sending a 16-year-old pupil photographs of himself naked in a bath.
It is alleged the teacher sexually groomed the teenager for almost eight months - having singled him out as a troubled pupil with trust and dependency issues.
The teacher later resigned after his suspension.
According to National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman Phindi Louw, rape cases differed according to Criminal Procedure Act schedules.
The minimum sentence for raping a child under the age of 16 was life imprisonment.
The Star