The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) intends to appeal the judgement in the case of the school patrol guard who was acquitted on charges relating to the sexual assault of learners at the AB Xuma Primary School in Soweto.
58-year-old Johannes Molefe was acquitted of all 11 sexual assault charges against him in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court in Ekurhuleni on Wednesday.
Initially 80 primary school girls came forward with allegations of sexual abuse and harassment, however by the time the case reached court Molefe was only facing 11 sexual assault charges and three counts of rape.
In his judgement Judge Johnson was scathing against the police, teddy bear clinic and the prosecution team in the way they conducted the case.
In a statement the NPA says they have decided to appeal the ruling saying the verdict was unreasonable and could not be validated by substantial evidence. They also pointed out that their conviction rate is 85.2% which is 15.2% above the national target.
Parents of learners at the A.B Xuma Primary school are also considering an appeal against the acquittal of the man accused of raping and sexually assaulting their children.
Phindile Sinye, who speaks on behalf of the parents, says they believe the court only focused on the mistakes made in the process, and not on what happened to the children.
” The parents are devastated by the court’s decision. Even during the case there were a lot of discrepancies done by the police. Police were very negligent in handling the case. We even raised this with the SAPS to say there were many discrepancies. We not surprised by the verdict is because of the negligence of the police,” says Sinye.
