JOHANNESBURG - The mother of a nine-year-old Grade 4 pupil who was allegedly raped by a teacher at a Soweto primary school says her daughter told her it was not the first time she had been raped.
The alleged incident happened at Busisiwe Primary School last Thursday.
The teacher has since handed himself over to police and is expected to appear in the Protea Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
Gauteng Education officials visited the school earlier this week as angry parents protested, demanding the teacher’s removal. He has since been placed on precautionary suspension.
The mother, who cannot be named to protect her daughter’s identity, said she was relieved that the teacher had been apprehended but remained uncertain about whether he had been formally arrested.
READ | Soweto teacher accused of raping Gr 4 pupil hands himself over
“I’m feeling relieved that he has now been apprehended, but I’m here to make sure because, with the way everything unfolded, I don’t even trust that he is arrested for sure,” she said.
She also expressed anger that the teacher had continued working after she reported the alleged incident to the school.
“That killed me because I thought as I went and reported the matter, he would be removed from the school so that my daughter could go to school. But then my daughter was the one sitting at home while the alleged suspect was still going to work as per usual,” she said.
The mother said she believed her daughter’s account and wanted the teacher to remain behind bars.
"I want him to rot in jail. I trust whatever my daughter has said is true, even if some people are trying to say it's not true. I'm standing with my daughter 100%."
She also called for greater awareness of sexual abuse and more support for children who experience it.
The mother said she noticed a change in her daughter’s behaviour last week. The child, who is usually talkative, had become unusually quiet.
“At first, I thought it was bullying. I asked her if there was something wrong happening at school, and she said nothing until she mentioned it on Friday morning, saying that there is something that has been happening in school. And apparently, it’s not the first time,” she said.
The mother said the alleged incident was particularly distressing because it happened on school premises during school hours.
“It’s very sad that it happened on the school premises, during school hours. When you take your child to school, you expect that that’s the safest place. I consider educators as second parents when you are not there,” she said.