Mom relieved as trial date is set for Bryanston school sexual assault case

The mother of a Bryanston High School pupil who laid a sexual abuse charge against the school’s former sports coach has expressed relief that the “end is near”.

The Alexandra magistrate’s court on Monday announced the accused would stand trial from November 23.

“Right now there are a flood of emotions surfacing all at once from the past 19 months of disappointment. [I am] feeling anxious but somewhat relieved that there is now light and the end is near,” the woman said in a statement released by Women and Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA).

The group has been supporting the family leading up to the trial, a process that had taken almost two years.

“After 19 months, the accused is yet to plead,” WMACA said.

The accused had tried several avenues to have the case withdrawn but after months of delays the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) last month ruled there was a case to answer to.

WMACA said during this bid to have the matter withdrawn, the voice of the victim had been silenced.

“How the justice system has handled this case is a deterrent for victims,” the group said.

“The justice system silences the victims and makes them invisible. It does not offer support to the victim, not even through the services they should be providing,” the group charged.

Disciplinary hearings held by the school last year alluded to there being three complainants between 2017 and 2018, but only one lodged a criminal case against the former coach. He was fired by the school after an internal hearing on the allegations of sexual assault and financial mismanagement.

The accused remains out on bail.

TimesLIVE