Classmate raped me - girl, 10
21/11/2006 21:16  - (SA)  

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Bonnie Parker

Pietermaritzburg - A 10-year-old Grade 4 girl, who claims she was raped by a classmate at a Howick primary school, is scared all the time now, says her father.

The father - who cannot be named to protect the identity of the child - said she had been too scared to tell anyone what had happened.

Her grandmother, with whom she was living, noticed that the girl had a temperature and was not behaving normally.

When she asked her what the matter was, the girl started to cry and said she had been sexually abused behind the school toilets by a boy in her class.

Apparently, when he grabbed her she tried to bite the boy.

Pointed him out at police station

Her grandmother went to Howick police to report the case on Wednesday morning.

Her father said he notified the school on Friday.

The girl then identified the boy at Howick police station on Sunday.

Her father said: "When we leave our children at school, we expect them to be safe.

"The teachers are meant to be looking after them."

He said his daughter was traumatised and didn't want to go back to school, but he couldn't afford to send her to another one.

Childline director Linda Naidoo said: "We find quite often that children are more sexualised. Incidents like this are becoming common."

Education department spokesperson Christi Naudé said that, according to a report from the principal, the school learnt about the alleged rape for the first time when the girl's father visited the school on Friday.

Naudé said: "The boy has denied all allegations of physical contact with the girl."

She said that internal investigations so far (the questioning of fellow pupils, prefects and non-teaching personnel, such as cleaners) had not given any evidence that would suggest that the boy should be suspended.

"Scared all the time"

According to the school, teachers and prefects were placed on duty 15 minutes before school started, during breaks and 15 minutes after school closed.

A prefect roster system and a teacher roster were used and controlled by the school management team.

The victim has had counselling at Grey's Hospital.

Her father said: "She needs more counselling. She sometimes starts shivering. She gets scared all the time."

The case is set for court.