HotNews has been reliably informed that a number of victims of the Bethel College rape and sexual harassment scandals have opened criminal cases ranging from rape and attempted rape to indecent assault, the latter flowing from cases of alleged fondling of learners by staff members.
Many more of the victims are still contemplating laying charges and are consulting parents. Most had never confided in their parents about the painful experiences. They are now faced with the daunting task of having to open up, some after many years of bottling up the pain. The group is comprised of both former and current learners.
SDA Church declares Bethel allegations as “false” without speaking to victims
The SDA had issued a statement dismissing the allegations as “false rumours”. They later sanitised the statement by issuing another one without the two words that greatly offended the victims.
SDA changes tune about Bethel sex scandal
Gerald du Preez, who has been communicating with HotNews as a spokesperson of the National chapter of the Seventh Day Adventist Church which owns the school, has since refused to shed light on where the Church is with its investigation. HotNews asked him a series of questions, chief amongst which was whether or not they had made any attempt whatsoever to reach out to the victims. The latest reply has been that the church will no longer reply to our questions.
“Due to the sensitivity of the matter, we cannot respond to the above questions. We can confirm that the matter is being dealt with in accordance with our internal processes. We are working with the local authorities to ensure that the necessary statutory processes are being followed and we will do everything to protect the victims and the rights of all the parties implicated”, wrote du Preez via email.
HotNews asked all the victims that have come forward whether anyone from the church or the school itself had approached them. None of them have been spoken to.
In another development, a national women’s rights organisation that works very closely with the Hawks on incidents of rape and gender-based violence has entered the fray and committed to assisting the victims in laying charges and dealing with the traumatic experiences. At this stage HotNews cannot divulge the name of the organisation until it issues its own statement. The group is linked to victims of the Pastor Omotoso case.
HotNews has been conducting an investigation into the allegations for weeks after former and current learners approached us for assistance. We broke the story last week and have been following up on all the latest developments. This is a developing story.
