A PRIMARY school teacher is behind bars after he allegedly raped a 13-year-old gr. 7 learner in Waterval-Elim last Thursday night.
Waterval police spokesperson, WO Kedibone Mabatha said the teacher allegedly drove to the girl’s home in the middle of the night when her mother was not at home.
The teacher allegedly took the young girl to his home and raped her, Mabatha said.
“A neighbour saw the young girl getting in the teacher’s car at around midnight and alerted the mother, who was not at home at the time. When the mother came home, she found her daughter’s bed empty and she rushed to the teacher’s house.
Mabatha said on the mother’s arrival at the teacher’s house, he tried to prevent her from entering.
“The angry mother forced her way in and found her daughter naked on the teacher’s bed. She took her home and reported the matter to the Waterval police. Her daughter was taken to a doctor who confirmed that sexual activity had taken place,” Mabatha explained.
The teacher was arrested on Friday and charged with rape.
He appeared before the Waterval magistrate’s court on Monday and no bail was granted. The case was remanded to Tuesday for a bail application.
Fiona Nicholson from the Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Trust said they assisted over 40 rape and 80 domestic violence survivors every month. She said 58% of all rape survivors were children, and 38% were under the age of 13 years.
“In other words, 15 pre-teen children report rape to our trauma centres every month. Our society is predominantly patriarchal and women’s sexual and reproductive rights are not acknowledged. Sexual abuse and domestic violence is frequently trivialised, even by the victims themselves. Children’s attitudes are of particular concern. Educators who demand sex in return for good marks are so commonplace that the practise has become known as ‘STM’, which stands for sexually transmitted marks,” she said.
“In a disturbing number of rape cases, the perpetrators were also minors. Children as young as six years have presented with sexually transmitted infections they have received from nine- or 10-year-old ‘perpetrators,” she said.
