There is a problem no one seems to be speaking about. That problem is coaches/ teachers touching, molesting and killing children. There are so many cases out there of coaches that groom the children and the parents in order to have unfettered access to the children. The idea is to slowly gain trust to get the kids into private rooms and so forth. They will say things like, your child has potential but just needs some private lessons.
Here are just three cases of paedophiles that shocked people within the last year. 73-year-old William John Creasey was convicted for indecently assaulting 13 young boys. He also had the largest stash of child pornography ever found. Creasey served six years for these crimes and was released in 2009. On Saturday 22nd of February, 2020, Creasey was caught taking pictures of young boys at a cricket match at Rondebosch Boys High School. Two parents spotted the pervert and confronted him but he had no good reason as to why he was there or taking pictures of the young boys.
The more famous case of Bob Hewitt comes to mind as well. Bob was convicted for the rape of two girls when he had coached them at a young age. The Aussie tennis star won nine grand slam titles in the doubles and six in the mix doubles tennis tournaments. To many, he was a well-respected man and probably the last person you would suspect of rape and paedophilic behaviour.
Basketball coach Marvin Minaar would probably be largely unknown to many but in the community of Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay, his name will not easily be forgotten. He has been charged with the murder of 12-year old Sibusiso Dakuse. Minaar has since made a full confession. Sibusiso was watching a local basketball game with two friends when Minaar approached them to accompany him to the pharmacy. The two friends declined while Sibusiso agreed to go with Minaar. That was the last time young Sibusiso was seen alive.
Coaching children for most people is a passion but coaches are not screened or scrutinized the way they should be. In my experience, it is a trust thing where you know someone who knows the parents and those parents trust you literally with their kids’ lives. I was a coach for many years and I was trusted with children with their parents having no knowledge of who I actually am. In South Africa, we need to stop this trust bullshit because our children are suffering for it. Unfortunately, without a registry available to the public, it is extremely difficult for both parents and employers to do proper background checks. It is up to parents to watch their children like hawks to ensure their safety.
The government needs to be more transparent with information on rapists, murderers, and paedophiles being released. The public should know when they coming out, what they were in for, where they live and where they work. That way, at least you have information on the person so that in the event of something awful happening to your children, you know where to look. Boundaries can also be made very clear in order to minimize the risk of the perpetrator overstepping the line. The message should be clear that parents are vigilant and they run the risk of imprisonment should they re-offend or violate their parole conditions. There’s too little transparency from Government and too much trust from parents and it doesn’t bode well in our current system.
