Tiny hands waved goodbye to parents as toddlers were dropped off at Babbel & Krabbel's premises in Melkbosstrand on Wednesday. But fewer little feet entered the classroom this week – by Tuesday, attendance was down by a quarter.
On Friday, after News24 published allegations of the sexual assault of at least seven toddlers who attended Babbel & Krabbel crèche in Melkbosstrand, near Cape Town, the owner, Annet, dismissed the accounts as "old rumours" that are "deeply hurting our school and community".
Last week, News24 reported that toddlers as young as two were allegedly abducted and raped by Marius Pistorius, 69, after they were seized from Babbel & Krabbel, which Annet founded in 1992.
