[imagesource: Wikimedia Commons]

Following revelations of abuse by a former pupil at Western Province Prep, a retired school teacher, David Price, has been arrested in South Africa.

The arrest follows an exposé by Alex Renton, a former pupil at the prestigious Ashdown House in Sussex, which alleged instances of sexual abuse by teachers in some of the country’s most respected boarding schools.

The programme, which aired on BBC, led to a South African pupil contacting police about his abuse at the hands of Price, 73.

Price was one of two teachers named in the programme who relocated to South Africa following accusations of abuse at Ashdown House.

Once here, they seem to have simply continued teaching, and if the accusations are true, continued to prey on young boys.

Price left Western Province Prep in 1987 but the school has noted that no accusations of sexual abuse were ever levelled at the former teacher. Following his departure from the school, Price was reported to have taught at a live-in school for the deaf.

Western Province Prep has reached out to former pupils, requesting anyone with information about the alleged abuse to come forward, but this seems to be yet another case of too little too late as frustration continues among the growing list of victims.

“Maybe our best hope is for South Africa to bring him to justice within South Africa because the extradition is not working,” said Renton.

Extradition between the two countries is notoriously slow, but victims have welcomed the action taken by South African prosecutors.

This case has again highlighted the prevalence of abuse by teachers in some British private schools, only for the school to simply deny the abuse. Often these teachers resign and move to another country to continue teaching. As noted by a former pupil:

“The school authorities covered it up, minimised it, and rubbished it at the time. Their negligence, in my view released a public nuisance into society back over to South Africa.”

The question needs to be asked: How do we stop South Africa, and other countries, from becoming the dumping ground for disgraced predatory teachers?

[source: theguardian&yahoonews]