A Free State couple are suing their son's private school and his English teacher for R100,000 after she posted a comment to colleagues on WhatsApp accusing the boy of making "massively inappropriate sexual jokes" in her presence.
The legal battle has sparked claims that the teacher has an "inappropriate" relationship with male pupils. She is accused of wearing short skirts at school, flirting with pupils, spending time at her home with a teenage boy and calling a Grade 11 female pupil a "ho" (whore) and others sluts.
Johnny and Ellen Abatzoglou, who own a string of fast-food franchises in Welkom, sent a letter of demand via lawyers to St Dominic's College this week, alleging that the remarks by their Grade 11 son's teacher, Bella du Toit, had defamed him.
But the Catholic school has defended Du Toit, threatening the couple with a R1-million counterclaim for defaming her, the school and headmaster Shane Gaffney.Board of governors chairman Steven Green said although there was "no credible evidence" to suggest the allegations against Du Toit were true, the school was investigating "in the interests of the broader St Dominic's community".
Some of the allegations against Du Toit, who teaches grades 9, 10 and 11, were raised in the Abatzoglous' letter.
The message, posted by Du Toit on a teachers' WhatsApp group on June 2, read: "[The boy's] behaviour during our rehearsal session today is appalling. He is distracted, acting very childish and making massively inappropriate sexual jokes in front of me."
The Abatzoglous said Du Toit's remarks were intended to mean their son "is of low moral fibre and poor character". They deny he made the jokes.
Green has denied the WhatsApp was defamatory.
The Abatzoglous' lawyer, Casper Kruger, in the letter of demand, refers to Du Toit's "untoward behaviour" to pupils. He says the Abatzoglous were told by teachers and parents that she called a female Grade 11 pupil a "ho" and fellow pupils "sluts" on casual day this year.
The letter says the Abatzoglous have received reports that Du Toit was involved in the "illegal sexual grooming of various male pupils" and that a pupil's mother had reported this to the school on April 20 but that no action had been taken.
Ellen told the Sunday Times their son had learning challenges and she had gone to the school to request concessions, such as extra time, because he has reading dyslexia.
She would remove him from the school after the July holidays and home-school him...