IPID head Robert McBride in court on charge of alleged child abuse

Head of police watchdog IPID Robert McBride on Wednesday appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on charges related to the contravention of the Children's Act.

The Independent Police Investigate Directorate (IPID) released a short statement following McBride's statement‚ saying he had been released on R10‚000 bail.

The case was postponed to October 2.

"Mr McBride would like the trial to start as soon as possible so that he can clear his name. As this matter is already in the courts‚ McBride has been advised not to comment further‚" IPID spokesperson Moses Dlamini said in a statement. He is accused of assaulting a teenage female relative‚ a claim which he has denied.

At the weekend‚ McBride claimed to have simply "admonished" the young girl for her behaviour.

"Lately‚ I became concerned that her marks at school had dropped substantially and her behaviour was somewhat rebellious. That was my reason for admonishing her‚” McBride said in a statement.

In an interview with the Sunday Times‚ the girl claimed McBride threatened her life after throttling her and punching her in the face.

“He looked directly at me‚ saying that he wasn’t finished with me. He told me he would kill me‚” the 15-year-old was quoted as saying.

“I deny that I assaulted her and that she had any injuries when I left her at home‚” McBride said.