Arrest made as police probe abuse of 29 aspiring footballers
Gauteng police have confirmed they are investigating claims of abuse and rape at a football school in Protea Glen in Soweto.
A soccer coach recruited boys to play in the club's academy but they were allegedly sexually assaulted and beaten by their trainer.
The Star reports that twenty-nine schoolboys were allegedly sexually assaulted and beaten by their coach.
Police are not prepared to say much more other that to confirm that a case of rape has been open against the 34-year-old coach by a 9-year-old complainant.
"There is a victim, who is nine years-old (and) who has laid a charge, it is currently being investigated by our Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Investigations Unit, and also the suspect has been arrested," says police spokesperson, Mzwakhe Xazi.
It's understood that the coach recruited the boys, aged between nine and eighteen, from across the country.
One of the victims of the alleged assaults told The Star that the trainer took advantage of the boys' desperation to pursue their soccer dreams.
They say they have suffered in silence for months.
Xazi says investigations revealed that the boys were living under the same roof as the alleged sex predator.