Security guard arrested for sexual assault on 54 primary school girls in South Africa

A 57-year-old Sowetan man working as a security guard at a school in Orlando East, was arrested on Monday night for the alleged sexual assault on 54 primary school girls.According to reports, the man whose identity is yet to be revealed was arrested after two girls, a Grade 2 and Grade 6 learners accused him of sexually assaulting them. Afterthe Principal of the school instructed teachers to question the girls in their classes, they came up with a list of 54 alleged victims.Speaking to The Star, a motherwhose 6-year-old daughter is alleged to have been one of the guard’s victims spoke about what her child had been subjected to as she could barely contain her tears.According to the woman, she received a message from her daughter’s father on Tuesday morning, telling her to go to the local clinic immediately, because “something bad has happened to our daughter”.“When I arrived at the clinic, I was informed that my daughter had been sexually abused and I broke down.“The nurse asked my daughter what had happened and my daughter told her that mkhulu (grandpa) keeps touching her inappropriately, saying the security guard had put his fingers in her vaginal area,” she said.The girl told both her parents and the nurse that it had happened “on a regular basis”,the mother said.When asked about her daughter’s state of mind, the distraught mother said her child was traumatised, she can’t stop crying - “especially when she sees me. She is refusing to go back to school”.“I’m worried about what will happen to my daughter when she grows up - how long will this trauma affect her? I’m worried that she could be damaged psychologically.“My wish is that she receives counselling, because I’m in a state and I don’t know how I’mgoing to assist my child,” she said.Confirming the incident, Police spokesperson Captain Nomvula Mbense said the guard was apprehended after a parent complained to the principal that her daughter had been violated.“The principal requested the teachers to question the girls in their classes (on Monday), where a list of 54 alleged victims was drawn up.”The suspected paedophile is expected to appear in the Protea Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday on charges of sexually assaulting minors.