Cape Town - The survivor of a now 83-year-old accused paedophile and former teacher has urged other victims to come forward, after the man made his first court appearance in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Police confirmed that Iain Wares, also wanted on a number of sexual charges in the UK, will appear in court next month again after he was arrested at the Rondebosch police station.
Anti GBV organisation, Women and Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA), said they would be supporting the survivor, known by his pseudonym, Stephen, by opposing bail.
Founding director of WMACA, Miranda Jordan, urged victims of Wares to come forward to build a stronger case against the man who now faces charges of indecent assault.
Police spokesperson, FC van Wyk, said: “The mentioned person was arrested (on Monday) on an indecent assault case reported at Rondebosch SAPS. He appeared in Wynberg Court on January 30. Case was postponed until 13 April 2023 for further investigation,” said Van Wyk.
Enquiries to the National Prosecuting Authority could not be answered by deadline on Monday. In a statement, Jordan said Stephen reported that he was in Standard 5 (Grade 7) at Rondebosch Boys Prep in 1988 when he first encountered Wares, where he was allegedly “both physically and sexually abused by Wares as a child”.
“Tragically, he reports that the physical assault of small boys by adult men in power over them was common place, contributing to the secrecy by making assaulting children the norm.
“Stephen is appealing to other men who may have been abused by Wares during his years at Rondebosch Preparatory school to come forward and contact Women and Men Against Child Abuse.”
Wares is one of two South African men hauled before the country’s courts while both of them fight extradition to face their criminal cases in UK.
David Price, 76, who had taught at the Western Province Preparatory School in Cape Town, is also accused of sexual assault, and makes his next court appearance on Wednesday. He is accused of sexually abusing a pupil nearly 40 years ago.
Wares and Price’s arrests came after the UK’s BBC 4 channel aired a programme in which they were named among a number of teachers who allegedly sexually abused pupils at some of the country’s most respected boarding schools.
Cape Times