Mokgobo denies child abuse at Oprah Winfrey's school
Virginia Mokgobo was held last year after allegations of indecent assault and soliciting under-age girls to perform indecent acts at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy near Johannesburg.
According to the police, six teenage students and a fellow dormitory matron at the academy were abused a number of times over a four-month period, reports the Telegraph. The students are to give evidence in private, as they are 'very scared and very, very emotional,' according to prosecutor Etienne Venter.
Appearing
at
Sebokeng
magistrate
court
on
July
29,
Mokgobo
pleaded
not
guilty
to
each
of
the
14
charges
levelled
against
her.
The
allegations
include
attempting
to
kiss
and
grope
a
13-year-old
student,
touching
intimate
body
parts
of
the
girls
through
their
clothing
and
accusing
one
student
of
being
a
prostitute.
She
is
also
charged
with
pushing
a
13-year-old
girl
against
a
wall
and
pushing
her
thumb
against
her
windpipe,
as
well
as
assaulting
her
fellow
dormitory
matron
Promise
Ngwedi.
If Mokgobo is found guilty of indecent acts, she will be sentenced to a minimum of ten years in jail. Winfrey, who herself was a victim of abuse as a child, said that she was devastated after the charges were formally laid last year.
"I was devastated and really shaken to my core when I first heard this news," she said. "I spent about a half hour crying. This has been one of the most devastating, if not the most devastating experience of my life," she added.