Arrest Made In Oprah Winfrey Girl School Scandal
Posted November 3, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A former employee of Oprah Winfrey’s school for disadvantaged girls in South Africa has been arrested on charges of abuse and sexual assault, police said Friday.
Spokesman, Supt. Lungelo Dlamini, said the 27-year-old woman, a former dorm matron at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, was arrested Thursday by the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offenses Unit, after at least seven victims stepped forward with allegations of serious misconduct.
“Several charges including alleged assault, indecent assault, criminal injury and soliciting underage girls to perform indecent acts are being investigated against her,” Dlamini said.
The woman was being held by police and was expected to appear Monday in Sebokeng magistrate’s court, south of Johannesburg.
Local media recently reported that Winfrey made a tearful apology to parents and students in a meeting at the school. The reports said the woman is accused of physically abusing pupils and fondling at least one of them.
In a statement posted Friday on the school’s website, Winfrey said: “I’d like to thank the South African Police Services for bringing this investigation at my Academy to a timely resolution.”
“I am grateful for their compassion and sensitivity to the girls during this difficult time. It means the world to me,” the talk show host said. “It is my deepest hope that the accused is brought to justice and that this serves as a reminder that any time a child has the courage to step forward, it is our duty as adults to listen and take immediate action.”
The lavish $40 million school aims to give 152 girls from deprived backgrounds a quality education in a country where schools are struggling to overcome the legacy of apartheid.
