Parents-teen sex abuse scandal rocks school

An upmarket KwaZulu-Natal Montessori school is embroiled in a sex-abuse scandal, with two parents - a sports coach and a traffic cop - accused of sordid relations with a teenage pupil.

Parents are furious that the scandal - which has led to one of the men being arrested on charges of statutory rape and sexual grooming of a minor, and the other on possession of child pornography - has been hushed up after the teen told her mother about the encounters last year.

Sources with knowledge of the investigation told the Sunday Times that the girl and the sports coach had become embroiled in an "affair", while her interaction with the other man had been limited to sexting.

Both men had children at the school.

The Montessori education system is an international model based on a child-centred approach founded on scientific observation of the child from birth.

It is understood that the teen had confided in her mother, who in turn notified the police and the school in September.

The men and the school cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the girl, who is now receiving counselling.

According to the Montessori school's website, the senior primary facility offers "self-directed learning at one's own pace and freedom within boundaries".

A parent said they had been kept in the dark and were tired of waiting for a response from the school. "We are sitting around waiting for a letter from the school which they said they would send ... which will spell out what has happened," the parent said.

"I don't want to compromise my own children and this is very worrying. The attorneys spoke to us and told us that we shouldn't talk to anyone."

Another parent said that they had first been informed about the scandal at the beginning of the year.

"I don't know the details. I just know that something like this has happened and I am very much shaken."

The South African Montessori Association said it had been in talks with the school's principal.

"We have been informed of the alleged incident by our member school and believe the matter to be subject to litigation," it said.

NO COVER-UP

Sheena Jonker, of nonprofit organisation Access to Justice, said parents had been consulted in an information session and denied that there had been a cover-up.

"[The] session [was] to advise parents of what had happened, what we knew, and to engage in a discussion on concerns and mapping the way forward," she said.

"Parents were cautioned against speculation, largely since these matters cannot identify child victims and victims of sexual violence.

"There were proactive attempts to problem-solve and guard the privacy and dignity of the child victim and all other children within the community, and there are ongoing efforts to ensure early detection and prevention in the future."

Jonker said there were child victims "on both sides" of the scandal, referring to the teenage victim and the children of the men.