The bail hearing of a primary school teacher from Mossel Bay got underway in the local Magistrates Court on Monday.
The 43-year-old Grade 7 teacher, who may not be named, faces 19 charges of sexual grooming of children, sexual assault, rape and exposing children to pornography.
The father of two is accused of committing the acts with children who were in his class.
The alleged crimes took place between 2019 and 2020 at various places, including a church in Mossel Bay.
The alleged victims are now in high school.
The bail application was heard in-camera, and only journalists were allowed to attend proceedings.
The teacher was arrested at Park Primary School on the 20th of September and has been kept in custody at the George prison ever since.
He is facing a schedule 6 offence and, therefore, has to satisfy the court that there are exceptional circumstances to grant him bail.
During proceedings, the accused told the court that he had been in custody for 47 days and had not yet seen his children.
He also raised health issues, including heart problems, high blood pressure and cholesterol.
State Advocate Gerda Marx argued that he could take his medicine in prison and did not need to go home for that.
The teacher, who at times became emotional, complained about the conditions in prison, which was not ideal as he was being exposed to fellow inmates using Tik.
Lastly, he requested the court to grant him bail so that he could spend time with his family and relatives to discuss possibilities "for the way forward".
The matter was postponed to Wednesday.
Shortly after the arrest, the school principal, Daan du Toit, told the Mossel Bay Advertiser that they were unaware of the alleged crimes and were informed by SAPS.
The Department of Education in the Western Cape has since launched an investigation.
Spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said the allegations were worrying and serious.
