Northern Cape Education Department official accused of raping a nine-year-old girl remanded in custody

The Springbok Magistrate’s Court has refused bail to the Northern Cape Education Department employee who is accused of raping a nine-year-old child.

The Namakwa District-based officer, who is 56 years old, has been detained in police custody. He is charged with raping the youngster in May. The provincial department of education also said that action had been taken against the offenders.

Geoffrey Van Der Merwe, the department’s spokesman, claims that the employee has been put on precautionary suspension following his arrest for suspected rape.

“The Northern Cape Department of Education can confirm that we have placed an official from the Namakwa District office on precautionary suspension following his arrest for alleged rape. He will remain on precautionary suspension until his case has been concluded,”

said Van Der Merwe.

Despite the allegations, according to SABC News, the official would continue to work for the Department while he is incarcerated.

The unnamed official was apprehended by authorities two days after the alleged rape occurred. The case has been continued until August 4th, according to Mojalefa Senokoatsane, a spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in the Northern Cape.

“Springbok Magistrate’s Court has denied bail to John who is accused of raping a nine-year-old child. The case has been postponed to the fourth of August as [the] investigation led by police continues,”

said Senokoatsane.

The mother of a 13-year-old who was reportedly gang-raped in June claims, however, that the Eastern Cape Education Department has not offered her any assistance. The EC Education Department recently announced that it will keep helping rape survivors who are still enrolled in school.

The 13-year-old girl’s mother from Komani says she intends to sue her daughter’s school. The school reportedly chased her teenager from its property after the horrible occurrence, according to the parents’ heartbroken accounts.

The mother claims that despite having purportedly agreed to do so, the Department has not offered her daughter any trauma counseling. The mother also said that without performing any investigations, the administration of the school leveled unfounded claims against her son. Read the entire account here.