Father to sue Western Cape education dept for daughter's rape

The father of a girl who was raped by a janitor on school grounds will sue the Western Cape education department for at least R2 million in damages.

The Cape Times reported that the father was given the green light by the Western Cape High Court on Friday to institute legal action.

The man, who cannot be named to protect his daughter's identity, initially failed to serve the department with a notice of intention to sue it in time.

However, an application to condone the late filing of the notice was unopposed and was granted by the court.

The girl, who was seven at the time, was raped while in aftercare at a northern suburbs school in March 2005.

Janitor Bronwill Daniels was found guilty of the crime in March 2008 and is serving a life sentence.

According to the report, the father claimed school officials breached their duties, because they failed to take proper care of his daughter.

This had resulted in the janitor raping her "while she was safely ensconced in the classrooms".