A 41-year-old former teacher in Tshwane has appeared before the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court facing charges including three counts of exposing children to pornography.
The man from Valhalla is also facing four counts of sexual grooming of two 13-year-old and one 15-year-old boy learners at the school.
“It is alleged that in August 2024, the accused contacted the three learners from the school he taught at, sent them nude pictures of himself, and requested them to send theirs in exchange,” said Lumka Mahanjana, Gauteng spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
After one of the victims sent his picture to the teacher, the NPA said the 41-year-old man proceeded to call the minor through video call. During the video call, the teacher demonstrated himself inserting his penis into a bottle.
“One of the victims reported the matter to the school teacher who requested them to bring their phones to school for observation. The parents of the victims were informed about the incident by the school and a case was opened against the accused in August 2024,” said Mahanjana.
After investigations by the South African Police Service, the accused man was arrested on Friday at his place of residence.
In court, the matter was postponed to 24 December 2024, for a possible bail application and the accused is remanded in custody.
On Monday, IOL reported that two men, including the former teacher, accused of sexual grooming and the possession, downloading, manufacturing, and distribution of child pornography in separate incidents had been arrested in Gauteng.
In a statement, the South African Police Service (SAPS) said the arrests were the result of joint operations involving its officers, the US’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the US’s Department of Homeland Security.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Amanda van Wyk said in the first operation last Thursday, members from the national and Gauteng provincial Serial and Electronic Crime Investigations Unit (SECI), Forensic Social Work, and the FBI acted on information supplied through an international tip line.
She said the investigation led the team to an address in Vanderbijlpark, where they arrested a 49-year-old man who allegedly sexually groomed, sexually assaulted, and raped his girlfriend's 15-year-old daughter.
In the other operation last week, the team then arrested the 41-year-old former teacher and school principal in Pretoria, on charges of allegedly exposing children to adult pornography and sexually grooming boys between the ages of ten and twelve.
IOL