Cape Town - In the Boland town of Franschhoek, he walks around with two faces: one is that of a respected pastor in the community and the other a teacher who preys on young girls and has sexual relationships with them.
The Franschhoek teacher, who is in his forties and a grandfather, was handed down a suspended sentence of five years after pleading guilty in the Paarl Regional Court to having a sexual relationship with one of his pupils. He was charged and convicted of statutory rape.
The girl’s mother, who cannot be named to protect the girl's identity, said her daughter was back at school but was not coping and was being ostracised by other pupils.
She said her daughter was in need of intensive counselling, especially as the relationship had resulted in pregnancy, which ended in miscarriage. She said she was unhappy with the sentence, especially as the man had been allowed back into the community.
“How can they say the crime is serious, but then give him a suspended sentence?
I am so upset,” she said.
The mother claimed that another girl had also allegedly been involved in a relationship with the teacher, but said that nothing had been done about it.
“While he was busy with my daughter, he was busy with other girls too, she claimed. The thing is, nobody is standing up and it just gets swept under the rug. And people are upset with me and my family, because we spoke out about it,” she added.
The mother said the teacher was well respected in the community and claimed that he had brainwashed her daughter into thinking the relationship was normal.
“I feel sick that this happened. He is a pastor and every Sunday he preaches in church. He is married and has daughters of his own, he is a grandfather.”
She said her daughter was slowly starting to open up, but needed counselling badly.
“Everybody in the town knows about it and she has no friends. She is traumatised and nobody knows what she went through.”
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said after he was convicted, the teacher's name was entered into the national register for sex offenders.
“The teacher was arrested and charged with statutory rape. He was sentenced to five years, conditionally suspended.”
SA Democratic Teacher’s Union regional secretary Jonovan Rustin said the union condemned the teacher's unprofessional behaviour.
“We don't condone a relationship of this nature between a teacher and a pupil. The law is very clear and it is prohibited.
"Any teacher that has a relationship with a pupil is abusing their power. In many cases it is with a minor and the educators know it’s inappropriate.”
Western Cape Education Department spokesperson Paddy Attwell said the matter was reported to them last year by the school’s principal. According to their information the relationship began in 2015, Attwell said.
“The WCED views incidents such as this in an extremely serious light. The WCED will definitely not employ teachers convicted of sexual misconduct.”
Attwell said the girl received counselling last year, adding that she was “well integrated in the school and is performing academically satisfactorily”.