/ 8 November 2010

No arrests in Soweto for school ‘gang rape’

The three boys accused of drugging and raping a Johannesburg schoolgirl have not been arrested yet, the provincial education department said on Monday.

“I don’t think any arrests have been made yet … but we are visiting the school today [Monday] to speak to teachers and the principal,” said spokesperson Charles Phahlane.

Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Richard Munyai was not immediately available for comment.

Munyai said on Saturday that initial investigations had revealed that two girls were given a “date-rape” drug on Thursday and one of them, aged 15, was then allegedly gang-raped while being filmed with a cellphone.

The alleged rape was said to have happened on the school grounds in Soweto during school hours.

Munyai said that the identities of the boys were known but that their arrests were still pending.

“We haven’t spoken to them or their parents yet because we are still investigating. We can’t just rush in there and arrest people,” he said on Saturday.

He said the police did not go to the school on Friday because exams were in progress but that they were expected to meet with the school administrators on Monday. – Sapa