TEACHER to appear in court for rape.
The matter against a 58-year-old Limpopo teacher accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old pupil will sit in the Mankweng Magistrates Court on Tuesday, 15 April.
The accused made his second appearance on Friday, 11 April facing a charge of rape and sexual grooming of a minor.
The court revealed that the accused sexually assaulted the victim several times since July 2024 until he was caught on 27 March.
Giving evidence to oppose bail, state witness and investigating officer Lieutenant-Colonel Tsudi Thema, who has 12 years' experience working under the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual offence Unit and 34 years in the South African Police Service, told the court that the state has a strong case against the suspect and opposes his bail application.
Thema indicated that the J88 confirmed the victim had been raped multiple times, which is enough to send the suspect to jail without DNA results.
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"We have a very strong case against the suspect. The J88 report which shows the damage done to the victim 's private part can be enough to send the accused to jail for a long time. This report also confirms the victim was sexually violated. The DNA results won't affect the trial," he said.
State prosecutor Advocate Joel Mamabolo asked Thema how the offences took place.
"The victim told us the accused would call her while other pupils attended morning prayer sessions and raped her," answered Thema.
In his cross examination, the accused's lawyer, Advocate Michael Khumalo argued that his client must be released on bail as he's undergoing traditional initiation for his calling.
"My client is asking this court to be released on bail. He's not a flight risk. He's a first-time offender. My client is also undergoing traditional initiation for his calling and can't complete it while in custody," said Khumalo.
Magistrate Venus Makhubela postponed the case for the defence to finalise cross examination and to allow both the state and the defence to close arguments on the evidence presented by the state witness.
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