Just a week after the National Prosecuting Authority confirmed that a former Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School pupil has been charged for rape, a second family has come forward with claims that their son was also molested.
On Monday, eNCA reported that a 12-year-old son called his father in a panic after another classmate fondled him.
According to the report, the boys had been watching a movie and had created a ‘Christmas bed’ – whereby mattresses and beds are put in one area to make a large ‘bed’.
The boy told his father that he had fallen asleep and when he woke up around midnight, one of his peers had his hands in his pants and was fondling him.
The father told reporters that despite his son reporting the matter, he could not reach anyone at the school for most of the day.
When they did make contact with the school, they were told that everyone was fine. The father then demanded to know why didn’t the school alert him about the incident when his son reported it to the house-father. He also wanted to know why the incident wasn’t reported to police.
Last week, The Mercury reported that a former pupil at the school was due to go on trial following the rape of a boy at the school in October 2018.
Police spokesperson Thembeka Mbele said a 13-year-old boy was sexually assaulted while at school and a 15-year-old suspect had been arrested and made several court appearances.
At the time, Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School executive headmaster Greg Brooks said the school had dealt with the matter “as soon as we were fully in possession of the facts”.
“The parents of the minor boys concerned were also informed of the details of the incident and that a formal disciplinary inquiry would be held. We are always mindful of the possible profound impact any such disciplinary action may have on a child, and in protecting these boys, who left the school over a year ago, must refrain from publishing any information relating to any transgression, disciplinary procedure or the outcome of any such internal proceedings,” he said.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Kara said the boy was facing one count of rape, with the trial being set down for April 7 in the Estcourt Regional Court.
