The trial of a former Pietermaritzburg school counsellor accused of child pornography- related crimes as well as sexually assaulting and raping young boys, is getting under way in the city’s high court.
Darren Goddard on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to the raft of charges leveled against him.
A trial-within-a-trial to determine the admissibility of certain evidence relating to the sexual assault and rape charges is set down for Monday.
Goddard’s advocate, Shane Matthews, on Wednesday argued that all proceedings should be put on hold until then.
Judge Kate Pillay, however, yesterday refused to entertain this and ordered that proceedings - in terms of the child pornography-related charges - were to begin on Wednesday afternoon.
The counsellor, who boasts a Masters in Psychology from UKZN, is accused of raping and sexually assaulting young boys whom he had been counselling.
The 31-year-old accused was employed at the school in question from 2011 to 2016, the indictment said.