A teacher at a rural KwaZulu-Natal high school is expected to appear in the Nqutu Magistrate’s court on Wednesday for allegedly raping two pupils.
The teacher, whose name cannot be released faces two counts of rape, two counts of sexual grooming and one count of sexual assault. The teacher is expected to apply for bail.
On August 29, the teacher briefly appeared in court. At the time National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the case against the teacher had been postponed for a formal bail hearing.
The teacher, who has been suspended, gained notoriety, when a video of him having sex allegedly with a pupil, circulated on social media networks earlier this month.
On August 19, KwaZulu-Natal education department spokesman ?Kwazi Mthethwa said that there were six pupils, aged either 14 or
15-years-old, who had come forward claiming that they had been sexually assaulted by the teacher.
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The legal age of consent in South Africa is 16 years. The Schools Act prohibits any sexual relations between teachers and pupils irrespective of their ages.
According to Mthethwa, provincial education MEC Mthandeni Dlungwana had set up a task team to investigate the allegations. It was not immediately clear if or when the department would lay further charges with the police in respect of the other five alleged victims.
– African News Agency (ANA)?
