Former school bus driver jailed for sexual assault of young pupil

A FORMER school bus driver, Allan Charles Reed, 65, has been convicted and sentenced in the Kuruman Regional Court of sexually assaulting a primary school pupil in Seoding village, near Kuruman.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Northern Cape spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane said on Tuesday that the incident occurred in 2014 when the then seven-year-old pupil boarded the school bus.

“The driver invited her to sit in the driver’s seat under the pretext of teaching her how to change gears. When she approached, he proceeded to touch her inappropriately on her private parts. The pupil later informed her parents about the discomfort and trauma she had experienced. Her parents reported the matter to the school principal. However, no record of the complaint was filed with the Department of Education, nor were any steps taken to address the driver’s behaviour.

“As the pupil grew into her teenage years, she began self-harming due to the unresolved psychological trauma. This development prompted the matter to be reinstated on the court roll in 2020, after it had previously been postponed for further investigation.”

Senokoatsane added that further investigations revealed the driver had a prior conviction for indecent assault involving a similar matter, which had failed to deter him from reoffending.

“State prosecutor Kekeletso Lekota argued that the accused had shown no respect for the justice system, highlighting that despite his previous conviction, he continued working with children, where he repeated his unlawful actions.”

Senokoatsane said that the court found the accused guilty on a charge of sexual assault and sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment, of which four years were wholly suspended for five years, with conditions.

“This sentence reaffirms the NPA’s commitment to ensuring that crimes against women, children and other vulnerable members of society are prosecuted with the utmost seriousness, in recognition of the lasting impact such offences have on victims. 

“All cases of sexual violence encroach on the rights to dignity and privacy of the victims as enshrined in our Constitution. The sentence will provide some justice and closure to the victims and their families and ensure that violent criminals are removed from our streets,” he concluded.