Pressure mounts for Principal charges in Harvester Primary School teacher scandal
Image: Kim Swartz/Independent Newspapers
As parents for Equal Education question whether the Harvester Primary School principal will be among more people charged in the case of the teacher accused of sending explicit videos to a Grade 7 learner, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) said all protocol has been followed.
The former Grade R teacher, who resigned when the scandal broke, is expected to make her next appearance in the Mitchell's Plain Magistrate's Court on Thursday for her formal bail application.
She faces charges of sexual grooming of a child and exposing a child to explicit material
Vanessa le Roux, from Parents For Equal Education, said they questioned why the principal did not face charges.
'Why is the principal not arrested yet?
'The DPP (Directorate of Public Prosecution) initiated the charges after obtaining statements from the mother, grandmother, and principal.
'The DPP initiated charges against the principal, and the charge is defeating the ends of justice.
"While on the phone with the investigating officer (last Thursday) morning, he explained to me that they are still waiting for the docket to come back from the prosecutor.
'This also exposes the lies of the WCED, when they say the principal did what she was supposed to do.
'The only duty on her was reporting the matter to SAPS and the WCED.
"She is not a police woman, what business did she have getting into her car, and demanding the victim's cellphone.
'We are not playing about the lives of our children anymore, no one is above the law, even if I have to elevate that question to a national level.'
But Bronagh Hammond, spokesperson for the WCED, said protocol was followed.
'We are aware of the allegations made by Ms Le Roux, which the principal denies and the police are investigating,' she said.
'An affidavit detailing the exact timelines and the processes followed has been sent to the South African Police.
'Sadly, there have been many false facts communicated by various parties in this case. We therefore wait on SAPS to complete their processes before jumping to any conclusions or making potentially libelous statements in public.
'We cannot comment further at this point.'
The Department of Justice said it was for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to comment on while the NPA said it was a police matter.
Earlier, the investigating officer took the witness stand during the bail application where he informed the court of how the teacher allegedly instigated conversations on TikTok with the 13-year-old learner.
It was also further revealed that prior to allegedly sending the learner an explicit video of herself, she requested him to send a video of himself.
He sent one in return of himself and his younger brother playing video games.
The detective also testified that when the accused realised that she had sent the video and could lose her job, she asked the boy to delete it and that he asked her for a R500 for it to be erased. Get your news on the go, click here to join the Cape Argus News WhatsApp channel.
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