Last month there were reports that a 12 year old boy had been s_exually abused by a teacher at SPARK Primary School.
The school has released a statement confirming the alleged incident, it reads as follows,
On 19 May, we communicated to SPARK Silver Lakes families that we had been made aware of allegations that a SPARK Silver Lakes staff member had harmed a scholar. At that time we had no confirmation from the South African Police Service (SAPS) of the nature of the legal charges.
At the staff member’s bail hearing yesterday, 8 June, the court confirmed that the accused is facing charges of rape. We have had no access or contact with the staff member since the day of arrest, as the said employee has been in police custody. The employee has not been at the school since the arrest and will remain in police custody until the trial date.
SPARK Schools has zero-tolerance for offences of this nature, and we do everything we can to protect our scholars, including conducting criminal checks on all SPARK Schools employees – regardless of role – ahead of their employment. We have employed the services of independent child protection experts (forensic and clinical psychologists) to conduct a full investigation, and we believe that the independent investigation and its findings will aid the legal proceedings.
We are also offering our support and resources to the affected scholar and their family throughout the process as the scholar’s well-being is of the utmost importance.
As a reminder, we would like to request your utmost sensitivity around this matter. Legally and ethically, we cannot divulge any more information, as the case involves a minor, and it could interfere with the State’s ongoing investigation.
Please reach out to your schools leadership if you have any concerns.
Kind Regards
The SPARK Schools Team
