Alleged school paedophile coach faces first day in court
FOR two years, 23 teenagers were too frightened to report the alleged abuse they suffered at the hands of their rugby and waterpolo coach.
Strangling attacks, molestation, showings of pornographic material and even a rape on the Parktown boys’ school premises remained a terrible secret.
It was only through a coincidence that the first assault was discovered, eventually leading to the school’s discovery of 22 other victims and at least 92 other incidents of sexual assault.
Yesterday details of how the 21-year-old was apprehended and how he allegedly inflicted his spree of abuse on the pupils emerged during his first appearance at the High Court in Johannesburg yesterday.
A source close to the investigation revealed it was an unrelated pupil who initially approached the school’s security department, to ask to see CCTV footage to locate his missing school bag.
As security at the school tried to find the bag, the team stumbled upon footage of the 21-year-old coach assaulting one of the pupils.
The teenager was approached and the investigation began, resulting in 23 pupils, aged 14 to 16, fighting against their former coach at the high court.
The 21-year-old faces 94 charges of sexual assault, with many of the incidents happening while the coach was supervising children during their “preparation sessions”, or homework times, in the dorm rooms at the Druce Hall hostel, or at the school’s swimming pool area.
A sports trip to Durban, during which some pupils were touched inappropriately has also been cited. Many of the incidents between 2015 and 2016 involved the coach allegedly grabbing the teenagers’ genitals, squeezing their buttocks, or stroking their legs.
The coach also faces 32 charges of attempted murder, as many of the pupils involved say they were choked until they passed out, often during what was referred to as “wrestling” or “rough play”.
The single rape charge relates to an incident where the accused used his fingers to penetrate the anus of one of the boys.
The four charges of exposing pupils to pornography and two of sexual grooming relate to screenings of 50 Shades of Gray, where the coach allegedly stroked his victims while they watched the erotic, bondage-themed romance.
Yesterday, at the pre-trial conference, a trial date was meant to be set.
However, prosecutor Arveena Persad told the court the defence was unwilling to set a date until funds had been received. Defence attorney Clinton Symes said the issue was set to be resolved by November 10, the provisional date agreed upon by both sides.