A warrant of arrest has been issued for a retired teacher accused of sexually assaulting a student at Western Province Preparatory School nearly 40 years ago after he failed to appear in Wynberg Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
Also read: SA teacher wanted in the UK: Abuse victim calls for more to come forward
According to News24, Magistrate Goolam Bawa ordered that he not be named in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Act. Ben Mathewson, the accused lawyer, presented him with a medical certificate.
Mathewson’s client requires a wheelchair, which Magistrate Bawa described as potentially turning into a “logistical nightmare.”
The warrant will remain in effect until the accused’s next appearance on March 9, and the case has been postponed to allow for additional statements and consultations.
This most recent report of abuse is not the first. He faces several similar charges in the United Kingdom, where he had been a teacher before returning to South Africa.
The accused avoided extradition after Cape Town Magistrate Ingrid Arntsen determined that the state had failed to prove that the United Kingdom was a party to a treaty with South Africa, as required by the Extradition Act.
The National Prosecuting Authority will review this decision in order to compel him to return to the country where he is accused of 42 counts of sexual assault against former students.
Read more on News24.
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