Valhalla teacher facing a raft of sexual assault charges

The man now faces 24 charges of sexual assault.

The victims are said to be between 10 and 14 years of age.

He appeared in the Pretoria Magistrates Court for a formal bail application on Wednesday.

Investigating officer Johannes Mkhondo told the court that more victims, including four minor boys, are expected to come forward.

Mkhondo said the victims directly implicated the teacher in the alleged crimes.

He said the allegations of the teacher's inappropriate behaviour were reported to the school's deputy principal in 2018 and he was subsequently reprimanded.

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"The school's deputy principal has evidence that the accused was called into her office and reprimanded. He allegedly told the principal he will be careful because ‘he is a big boy’.”

The accused’s countered the allegations by accusing Mkhondo of demanding R10 000 from the teacher's wife to make the case disappear.

Mkhondo denied the allegations and said he would be willing to hand over his two cell phones.

The accused indicated to the court that he has no assets, resides in a house owned by his wife and is only able to afford R3000 bail.

Civil society organisation #NotInMyName and the African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) submitted an affidavit and a petition signed by 200 parents, urging the court not to grant the accused bail.

The two organizations argued that the man’s safety cannot be guaranteed should he be granted bail.

Judgment is expected to be handed down on Thursday.