A 15-year-old autistic girl was allegedly raped at her school on Wednesday.
The Gauteng MEC for education and youth development, Panyaza Lesufi, said the department’s psycho social unit will support the school today [Thursday].
According to Lesufi the incident happened at an Ecaleni school for learners with special needs. The girl attends the non-verbal phase at the school while her 17-year-old alleged rapist is a learner at the vocational phase at the school.
It is alleged that the perpetrator followed the victim in the autism phase classrooms, which are barricaded from the vocational area, and allegedly raped her behind the classes. An assistant teacher saw the perpetrator coming from behind the classroom zipping up his pants and the victim was also seen pulling up her pants.
The police were called and arrested the perpetrator. He was later released in the custody of his parents.
The school governing body will take the necessary disciplinary action, said Lesufi.
