Durban teacher fired for 'sexually assaulting' pupil, his fiancée’s sister

A Durban teacher has been fired after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a school pupil. The 16-year-old schoolgirl was his fiancée's sister and he had lived in an outbuilding on her family’s premises in Chatsworth, south of Durban, at the time of the incident.

The Education Labour Relations Council found the teacher guilty of sexual assault, dismissed him and ordered that he should not be allowed to work with children. The inquiry started on January 17 and was concluded on February 15.

According to the schoolgirl, the assault took place in April last year.

“She had written an examination and it was arranged the employee would collect her from school. Her mother had told him to drop her at her place of work. When he collected the pupil, however, he took her to their residence,” arbitrator J Kirby explained in his award summary.

“Once they arrived at the residence, the employee followed the pupil into the lounge. He took her by the hand and led her to her bedroom. He then pushed her onto the bed. He tried to unbuckle her shirt and pull down her pants. She resisted. He took out his private part from his pants and put it into her mouth.

“He used his hand to move her head up and down and 'messed' on her shirt. He told her to take off her shirt and he would clean it. She went to the lounge and the employee went to his room in the outbuilding.”

The schoolgirl confided in a friend, who advised her to tell a family member. The girl told the panel she regarded the teacher as a brother and trusted him.

“Under cross-examination the pupil said she was scared to inform her parents of the assault. The employee said she was not to tell anyone and if she did, he would leave. She did not know how to tell her parents. On the advice of her friend she told her sister-in-law who informed her parents,” Kirby said.

The teacher denied the allegation. His defence was that the schoolgirl’s family was trying to extort money from him as he had received a R2m Road Accident Fund payout.

“On April 19 2021 the pupil’s father asked him to collect the pupil from school as she was writing an examination and would finish early. Although he understood he was to take her to her mother’s place of work, when he collected the pupil she asked to be taken home. He had done so and informed her father.

“At the residence, he went to the outbuilding and the pupil entered the main residence. He was communicating with his then fiancée by cellphone. As the phone battery was running low, he entered the main residence to charge it. He entered the pupil’s bedroom to do so.

“On entering the bedroom, he found the pupil there. She was crying. When he asked why she was crying, she had jumped up and tried to kiss him. He pushed her away as she was a minor and ran to the outbuilding. He sent a message to his then fiancée that he needed to talk to her.”

The teacher said the family had accused him of raping the girl. The teacher’s father arrived at the home and took him to the police station, where he was charged. He appeared in court but the charges were withdrawn at his second appearance pending the receipt of DNA results.

The teacher told the inquiry the child had developed feelings for him. “He believed the pupil developed feelings for him as he took her to the casino and she had seen how well he treated her sister,” Kirby said.

Kirby did not accept the teacher's version. “It was evident that the pupil was nervous giving her evidence. During her evidence the hearing was adjourned for a short period to allow her to compose herself. She nevertheless gave her evidence in a clear and consistent fashion. She in no way gave the impression she was attempting to embellish her evidence and freely admitted she was unsure of the exact date on which the incident occurred.

“In assessing the evidence of the employee I am struck by the improbability of it being necessary for him to enter the pupil’s bedroom to charge his cellphone. It is common cause he stayed in the outbuilding. I would expect his battery charger to be in his and not the pupil’s room. No explanation was given why the charger was in the bedroom of the pupil.”

Kirby said there was no evidence the family had tried to extort money from the teacher.

“With regards to the employee’s evidence, he speculated that the allegedly false allegation was an attempt to extort money from him but he gave no evidence that any such attempt was subsequently made. On his own evidence, his father had arrived at the residence and taken him to the police station. He subsequently appeared in court.

“There is no evidence of any demand for the payment of money having been made by the pupil’s family. As a consequence hereof, I find the version of the employee improbable and reject it whenever it is inconsistent with the version of the pupil.”

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