A clinical psychologist was rushed to hospital after she was attacked by an inmate at Goodwood Prison on Thursday, 20 July 2023. Sydney Classen, a convicted rapist, dragged her into a bathroom and started forcefully removing her clothes.
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As reported by Rapport, a guard and an inmate who were in the prison library at the time of the attack, heard the psychologist scream and rushed out to help her.
‘The toilet is about 5 meters from the corridor. The prisoner kicked open the door and the prisoner (Classen) was torn from the woman. He still held her around the neck,’ a source told Rapport
It was discovered that Claasen had a sharp object in his possession during the attack. The psychologist had to be rushed to the N1 City Hospital for urgent treatment.
Claasen had previously been convicted of rape and sentenced to 18 years in prison. While serving that sentence, he also received an additional six-month prison term in 2018 for indecent assault. Despite being on parole, he was arrested again last month for assault with intent to injure, kidnapping and burglary.
According to a source, the incident could have been prevented if there had been a guard on duty at the gate of the consultation block. Unfortunately, the gate on this block has been unmanned for an extended period after the transfer of the prison’s head.
According to a source, there is no control over the movements of prisoners who visit psychologists, teachers or social workers.
Another source said, ‘Prisoners must be looked after by a guard at all times. This does not always happen and a whole team is sometimes left in the block on their own. The school is also there and during breaks, they run around on the lawn. There is a gate that a guard has to open and close all day, but he is so absent that the gate has been staffed at about 40% for the past three months. The rest of the time it is open.’
‘Absence of staff is a big problem.’
Singabakho Nxumalo, the spokesperson for the Department of Correctional Services, stated that they are currently conducting an investigation into the incident.
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