TEACHER SENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR RAPE OF A LEARNER IN CLASS DURING SCHOOL HOURS

• A life-orientation schoolteacher has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Worcester Regional Court for raping a learner in his classroom.
•  This is at a time that the country is focused on “working together in ending violence against children” during Child Protection Month.
• Those who have a duty of care for the children in their environment must report any sexual offences against vulnerable persons to the police – which was what the school principal did in this case.

The Worcester Regional Court has sentenced schoolteacher Jeremy Claasen to life imprisonment for the rape of a Grade 8 learner.

The court found he had raped the young learner in his classroom during school hours.

Acting Worcester Regional Court prosecutor Cornelius Prinsloo led evidence which revealed that Claasen, 38, was her life orientation teacher in Grade 8.

He started chatting with her on social media platforms when she joined the school in Grade 7, built up a relationship of trust and won her affection to the point where she felt comfortable around him.

On 7 February 2020, she went to his classroom to charge her phone.

She approached him, and he closed the classroom door and told her to sit on a bench. He made advances towards her despite her resistance, and he raped her in the classroom.

Three days later, she told one of her close friends, who then told another teacher at the school, who reported it to the principal.

The police were contacted and Claasen was arrested.

Those who have a duty of care for the children in their environment must report sexual offences against vulnerable persons to the police in terms of Section 54 of the Sexual Offences and Related Matters Amendment Act 32 of 2007.

The learner was examined at the Worcester Thuthuzela Care Centre, which also provided psycho-social support services.

Advocate Cindy Abdol, responsible for the Thuthuzela Care Centre case, managed the docket, guided the investigation, and consulted with the victim.

During the trial, the State presented the evidence of the victim via a closed-circuit television system with the assistance of an intermediary in a closed court session to negate any secondary trauma of testifying in the presence of the accused.

The State also led the evidence of the victim’s friend as the first report, as well as a medico-legal examination conducted by a doctor, which confirmed evidence of sexual penetration.

Court Preparation Officer Azraa Majiet supported the victim during the trial and ensured she received court preparation.

Claasen told the court that he could not have perpetrated the offence as he was in court paying a traffic fine.

Prinsloo argued that the alibi was a recent fabrication as it was never put to the State witnesses during cross-examination.

The court found that the learner was a credible and reliable witness whose testimony found consistency and corroboration through the evidence of her friend and that of the doctor.

It also noted that Claasen’s version was riddled with inconsistencies and improbabilities highlighted during cross-examination. It found his alibi improbable and false beyond a reasonable doubt.

In aggravation of sentence, Prinsloo argued Claasen had manipulated his position of authority and trust and violated a learner in an environment where she was supposed to feel safe.

She was violated in an environment where she went to every day to further her education and therefore violated her fundamental rights to human dignity, bodily integrity, and basic education.

Based on his predatory actions towards her, it was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Prinsloo argued that Claasen had targeted her early on and waited for the right opportunity to satisfy his perverse needs and that based on his evidence before court there were no substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment as the interest of the community and the seriousness of the offense far outweighs the personal circumstances of the accused.

The court agreed, sentencing him to the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.

The court case has driven home the message of the urgent need to tackle all forms of violence, abuse and neglect against children, with the sentencing taking place during Child Protection Month.

Child Protection Month calls for South Africans to take a stand under the theme “Working Together in Ending Violence Against Children”.

Although May is set aside as national Child Protection Month, the Department of Social Development focuses on a 365 days child protection programme of action for the prevention and management of violence against children.

Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Nicolette Bell, expressed dismay at the heinous crime committed by a teacher who was supposed to play a parental role to the learner while she was under his supervision.

Bell applauded the different roles played by the prosecuting and investigating team and that played by the staff at the Thuthuzela Care Centre.

She said Thuthuzela Care Centres provide comprehensive services and support to victims of sexual violence and help to ensure justice and closure to the victims and their families and remove violent criminals from our society.