Former Phoenix primary school teacher on trial for allegedly grooming and raping pupil (12)

A FORMER Phoenix primary school teacher dismissed by the Department of Education (DoE) faces trial in the Durban High Court for allegedly grooming and raping a pupil over two years.

Santosh Maharaj, who taught at Woodview Primary School, allegedly began grooming the victim when she was just 12 years old and is accused of multiple instances of sexual abuse at various locations including the school classroom.

He allegedly told the girl that he was “madly in love” with her.

It has been alleged that Maharaj raped the girl on multiple ocassions including in a classroom and at a lodge had kicked where security guards kicked them out, when he (Maharaj) could not produce an identity document for the girl.

The girl’s guardian found suspicious text messages on a hidden cellphone Maharaj allegedly gave the girl, and reported him in 2020.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges at the start of his trial this month in the Durban High Court.

Maharaj was dismissed by the DoE in April 2021 after the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) found that it was the only sanction that would “go a long way to ensure safety at schools.”

The ELRC published its findings on its website including Maharaj's dismissal.

During the Inquiry, the DoE led the pupil as a witness through an intermediary. 

In her testimony, the girl, who was 15 at the time, said that Maharaj had given her a love letter in 2018, when she was 12, and that he had constantly sexually abused and raped her until March 2020.

“She was abused sexually from the age of twelve when she was in a lower grade. It started with a love letter in 2018 until sometime in March 2020 when her guardian found out about the affair from her cellular phone given to her by Maharaj.

“She testified that he was persistent to an extent that he befriended her family, including inviting and taking her out with his family. She testified that Maharaj took her to Kamp’s Lodge, La Mercy Beach Hotel, Britannia Hotel and Wood View Primary School where he was a former teacher,” said ELRC arbitrator Humphrey Ndaba, in his verdict.

She testified that he first took her to a hotel under the pretext of wanting to have a discussion with her.

She said she was scared to tell her guardian about the incident because Maharaj was a family friend and her guardian would believe him.

“He told her not to tell her guardian and said it was a once off thing and would not happen again. This was in July 2019. In the same month, he took her to his house at a time when his family was not there. He took her into his room and started touching her again and she said this should be the last time, but it continued.

“He said if she wanted it to be the last time, she must allow him to have sex with her. Afterwards, he told her that he was not happy with how she acted the first time. They continued for a couple months to have sex on weekends.

"He gave her guardian excuses to take her out of the house on the pretext of chess training and tournaments. He said he would fix issues with her guardian if they have sex more often and she agreed," said Ndaba.

“In one of the hotels she was noticed by the guards who later came knocking at the door, asked for an identity document which she did not have, and they were sent out of the lodge. “She testified that they had sex at Woodview Primary School where he was a teacher. They put blankets on the floor at the back of the classroom. He used to pick her up from school and leave her at home before her guardian returned from work.

“She did not tell anyone, even her teachers, because when it happened, she would disassociate and try to forget about it. She testified that she confessed to her guardian after she found the cellular phone with suspicious messages from Maharaj,” Ndaba added.

Maharaj, who represented himself at the inquiry, testified that the pupil and her legal guardian had “bad blood” between them.

He said the child’s legal guardian wanted him to marry the girl because of an inheritance from his late father. 

He claimed that when he refused to marry the pupil, the legal guardian then threatened him, saying she would make his life difficult and make sure that he lost his job. 

He said he did not take the threats seriously until August 2020 when a criminal case was opened against him.

“He (Maharaj) has people who may testify that the pupil is a trouble maker and during lunch time she was in class with boys having sex. He testified that he knew this because he had hired a private investigator.

“In my assessment, despite the fact that the victim could not remember dates and times of the incidents overall, she specified some of the hotels, the classroom and home incident. She was steadfast, credible and reliable as a witness. Where she could not remember she was candid and frank about it.

"She had nothing against Maharaj. They were both caught by the guardian and she had to tell what transpired including her discomfort at some of the conduct of Maharaj.

“Whereas Maharaj did not traverse in detail vital allegations save that he made bare denials of all allegations raised.

“The bulk of cross-examination and examination in chief by Maharaj constituted an attack to the character of the pupil and her guardian rather than furnishing a plausible version why the pupil was fabricating detailed allegations against him.

I find Maharaj to have been evasive and unreliable as a witness. “In this matter, the employee (Maharaj) was in loco parentis. He owed the child a duty of care. At the arbitration, he failed to show remorse but insisted on his innocence. He went further to rub salt to the wound by attacking the character of the witness,” Ndaba said in his verdict.

Maharaj's trial is expected to continue next week.

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