Activists welcomes court decision dismissing application by teacher accused of child sexual abuse
The Wynberg Regional Court rejected Iain Wares' Section 174 application brought by his lawyer Ben Mathewson last week.
Mathewson argued that the state had insufficient evidence to prosecute his client and that the testimonies of state witnesses lacked credibility.
Wares is facing multiple charges related to sexual abuse of boys in South Africa and in the United Kingdom during his 40-year teaching career.
ALSO READ: ConCourt to hear application to halt extradition of Iain Wares to UK
Iain Wares is accused by a former pupil at Rondebosch Boys Preparatory School, known only as Stephen, of abusing him in 1988 while he was a teacher there.
Magistrate Vanessa Miki has ruled that the state's evidence is enough to proceed with the case.
Women and Men Against Child Abuse Advocacy Manager Luke Lamprecht hailed the decision as an affirmation that Wares must finally answer for his crimes.
"The now adult male victim who was 12 at the time he was taught by Mr Wares, his voice has been heard, and it has been decided by the Magistrate that Mr Wares has a case to answer to."
The case has been postponed until October 14 for Wares to start his case.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
eNCA
14 hours ago
- eNCA
Women and children under attack
JOHANNESBURG - Women and children are under siege, with cases of gender-based violence reported every day. READ: Women's Month | SA celebrates National Women's Day Last week, a four-year old died allegedly at the hands of her own father in Eldorado Park. Her mother faces charges of defeating the ends of justice and failing to report child abuse. Luke Lamprecht, head of advocacy at Women and Men Against Child Abuse; Patrick Godana, Eastern Cape manager at Sonke Gender Justice; and Javu Baloyi, spokesperson for the Commission for Gender Equality discussed the causes behind this scourge of violence.
Eyewitness News
2 days ago
- Eyewitness News
Activists welcomes court decision dismissing application by teacher accused of child sexual abuse
CAPE TOWN - The Women and Men Against Child Abuse has welcomed a court decision dismissing an application by a former Cape Town teacher accused of child sexual abuse to be acquitted of charges against him. The Wynberg Regional Court rejected Iain Wares' Section 174 application brought by his lawyer Ben Mathewson last week. Mathewson argued that the state had insufficient evidence to prosecute his client and that the testimonies of state witnesses lacked credibility. Wares is facing multiple charges related to sexual abuse of boys in South Africa and in the United Kingdom during his 40-year teaching career. ALSO READ: ConCourt to hear application to halt extradition of Iain Wares to UK Iain Wares is accused by a former pupil at Rondebosch Boys Preparatory School, known only as Stephen, of abusing him in 1988 while he was a teacher there. Magistrate Vanessa Miki has ruled that the state's evidence is enough to proceed with the case. Women and Men Against Child Abuse Advocacy Manager Luke Lamprecht hailed the decision as an affirmation that Wares must finally answer for his crimes. "The now adult male victim who was 12 at the time he was taught by Mr Wares, his voice has been heard, and it has been decided by the Magistrate that Mr Wares has a case to answer to." The case has been postponed until October 14 for Wares to start his case.
IOL News
6 days ago
- IOL News
86-year-old 'sex pest' teacher loses bid to dismiss case
Ian Wares, left, and his lawyer, Ben Mathewson, at the Wynberg court. Wares, who is wanted by UK authorities for 76 counts of sexual assault of young boys, has lost an application to have a Cape Town case discharged. Image: Genevieve Serra Former SA teacher, Iain Wares, who is wanted by UK authorities for 76 counts of sexual assault of young boys, has lost an application to have a Cape Town case discharged. Wares, 86, who walks using a walking stick, heard that his Section 174 discharge application was unsuccessful in the Wynberg Regional Court on Thursday. Magistrate Vanessa Miki said the State had enough evidence to proceed with the matter. She said that while looking at the evidence, it didn't warrant for the case to be rejected and therefore dismissed and refused the application. The application was brought by Ben Mathewson, Wares' lawyer, arguing that the State didn't have enough evidence to bring a prosecution and that the testimonies of two witnesses, that of the victim, lacked credibility. The local case involves a male victim who came forward after nearly four decades. Wares has since pleaded not guilty to the charge of indecent assault. With his legal team, he is also appealing his extradition to Scotland where he is supposed to stand for his alleged crimes abroad, arguing for the Extradition Act to be declared inconsistent with the Constitution. The responding parties brought their written and answering submissions and their notice to oppose the application earlier this year. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading The local case involves a victim dubbed 'Stephen', who took the witness stand last year where he told of the indecent assault Wares allegedly inflicted on him. The 47-year-old victim broke his silence claiming he was abused by Wares who was his teacher at Rondebosch Boys' Preparatory during 1988. Wares is accused of indecently assaulting the male victim by touching his buttocks and penis and rubbing his penis up against the victim. The victim's wife took the stand as the State closed its case, in which she revealed how her husband broke his silence after seeing Wares on television. During her testimony, the woman, who cannot be identified, told the court that while they watched an episode of Carte Blanche in 2022, her husband revealed that it was his teacher who had abused him and did so by pointing to Wares who was on television.
