Sexual assault victim speaks out after Durban teacher jailed
A man who was indecently assaulted by a Durban drama teacher 20 years ago, says had school authorities taken his warnings seriously back then, many children could have been saved from being victims too.
Colin Chapman was over a week ago sentenced to three years in jail after pleading guilty to 230 child pornography-related charges.
About 20 years ago, Chapman groomed *Garth (not his real name) over a number of months when he was in Standard 7 (Grade 9) at a high school in Hillcrest, before indecently assaulting him.
Garth says he was also abused by his father and explains that the attention he got from Chapman at first seemed natural and harmless.
"He paid a lot of interest in me and he was very friendly to me. He always said 'hello'. He always made efforts to come and be nice to me all the time. So, that's how he started [grooming] me. It started a very long time ago, maybe six months or a year before the incident happened. There was a one major incident which I'd rather not discuss," he said.
Garth says he reported his abuse to the school counsellor and Chapman was asked to leave.
Afterwards, a letter was written to the Board of Education but he was kept on the roll.
After Chapman left, Garth says he made sure each of the Durban schools he ended up working at knew what he had done.
It was years later in 2003 when Chapman was convicted for the crime he committed against Garth. He was handed a five-year suspended sentence and placed under correctional supervision.
Garth says despite this sexual offences record and his many attempts to warn other schools about him, Chapman was allowed to continue teaching at other Durban schools, including at Durban High School where he paid two boys, aged 15 and 17, money to send him indecent pictures and videos of themselves.
"When I phoned the school the first time, the headmaster slammed the phone down [on me]. I phoned again and spoke to one of the governing body representatives - they said they would let the headmaster know. I then phoned a third time. They said thanks for letting us know - he is being monitored," he said.
Chapman was arrested after the two boys came forward. The popular drama teacher entered into a plea bargain with the State and was sentenced by the Durban Magistrate's Court on the 17th of September.
Garth, who now lives in Johannesburg, flew down for the sentencing.
"I wanted to go and face him, see him and show him that I'm still around - I'm not scared of him and I'm not going to let this go until he goes away.
"It was more for me to get my own revenge back, so to speak. I sat right behind him in the courtroom, just to prove a point but he didn't look at me once," he said.
He has told Newswatch the three-year sentence Chapman received is a joke given that he was a second-time offender.
The ordeal has impacted Garth's life. He has been married twice and says he hasn't been able to hold down a relationship.
He says because of what he went through with his father and Chapman, he wants a much better and safer childhood for his four-year-old son.
"My ex-wife (whose child it is) and I were very open about it. She knew everything about my past. I don't want my son to battle like I have battled. There is not a chance I would ever touch my son. I love him too much and I just want to watch him grow. He is a beautiful boy," he said.
Garth says he sought professional help with Childline after his sexual assault, and the organisation's then national co-ordinator and prominent child rights activist, Joan Van Niekerk was instrumental in helping him heal.
He says it's imperative that the teenagers who also fell victim to Chapman get help.
"I would definitely recommend that they speak about it and go and see someone so they can work through it. Otherwise they will suffer for the rest of their lives. Go get help. Go get fixed. I'll even talk to them if it helps them. They are young and have got their whole lives ahead of them," he advised.
Garth feels the Department of Education should not have let Chapman anywhere near children after his first conviction for sexual offences in 2003.
He says he holds the department responsible and is considering taking legal action against it.
Following Chapman's sentencing, the KwaZulu-Natal Education Department said it would do more to monitor the employment of teachers to ensure those with previous sexual offence convictions do not work with children.
(File photo)