Beacon Bay police are investigating a case of rape after a teenage girl was allegedly sexually assaulted at a chaotic party organised by Grade 10 pupils of a well-known East London school.
The party, held at a Bed and Breakfast on Flamingo Crescent, Beacon Bay attracted 400 people, most of them teenagers.
The B&B manager, whose name is known to the Dispatch, said he had to use a hosepipe to disperse the crowd as some of them tried to climb over the wall in an attempt to get onto the property.
During the interview at the fancy 4-star establishment yesterday, the lanky 21-year-old manager confirmed that the event did take place but could not establish who made the bookings. The manager also denied reports that the guesthouse made booking arrangements with high school pupils.
He also said he was not aware of any rape incident but was willing to help the police in their investigation.
According to police the teenager who was allegedly raped could not recall what had happened to her that night but a medical exam revealed that she had been sexually assaulted.
Police spokeswoman, Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala said, “We took the victim to hospital for medical tests after her mother brought the child to our police station to open a case of rape. The results from the doctor came back confirming sexual assault.”
According to Mqala, police were not ruling out a possibility that more girls might have been sexually violated.
The police were not able to tell the Dispatch whether the incident occurred at the B&B or elsewhere.
The Dispatch understands the party, which had music on full blast and alcohol in full supply continued all night on Saturday until neighbours chased them away in the early hours of Sunday morning.
According to the manager of the establishment, they were expecting a group of 30 guests.
“I personally didn’t make the bookings myself. I was told that an intimate number of guests would have an event here. A group of about 20 came but as the night progressed an influx of people came from nowhere. You know how high school pupils are and this forced us to decide to shut down the event.”
The manager also said more chaos was caused by members of the community, who tried to use force to remove the crowd.
“The guy who stays next door owns (a security company). He started handcuffing people and everyone started running mad.”
According to eyewitness and neighbour Ian Milne, 44, the pupils, mostly underage, were “unbelievably drunk and made a lot of noise, urinating all over the street”.
Milne further said, “I live right next door to the B&B. I arrived with my family at home from a night out at 10pm to this unbelievable chaos and so we called the police, but when the Beacon Bay police arrived, they just sat inside their bakkies and did nothing.”
Mqala said Beacon Bay police management would run an internal investigation into the allegations that SAPS members who responded to the scene were not helpful.
Milne said he and some of his neighbours decided to chase the pupils on their own without the help of the police.
According to Milne, the bunch then took their party to a car park at the banks of the Bonza Bay River where they partied until dawn.
The Dispatch emailed questions to the school headmaster but didn’t draw a response. The Dispatch team even visited the school campus yesterday but was told by the headmaster’s secretary that the headmaster was at a circuit meeting.
Education department provincial spokesman, Loyiso Pulumani, said the school and the department of education would provide all of the necessary support and counselling to the victim if called upon.
“We are confident that the law will take its course, and indeed the alleged perpetrator will be speedily brought to book.” — malibongwed@dispatch.co.za
Pupil allegedly raped at Beacon Bay party
The party, held at a Bed and Breakfast on Flamingo Crescent, Beacon Bay attracted 400 people, most of them teenagers.
The B&B manager, whose name is known to the Dispatch, said he had to use a hosepipe to disperse the crowd as some of them tried to climb over the wall in an attempt to get onto the property.
During the interview at the fancy 4-star establishment yesterday, the lanky 21-year-old manager confirmed that the event did take place but could not establish who made the bookings. The manager also denied reports that the guesthouse made booking arrangements with high school pupils.
He also said he was not aware of any rape incident but was willing to help the police in their investigation.
According to police the teenager who was allegedly raped could not recall what had happened to her that night but a medical exam revealed that she had been sexually assaulted.
Police spokeswoman, Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala said, “We took the victim to hospital for medical tests after her mother brought the child to our police station to open a case of rape. The results from the doctor came back confirming sexual assault.”
According to Mqala, police were not ruling out a possibility that more girls might have been sexually violated.
The police were not able to tell the Dispatch whether the incident occurred at the B&B or elsewhere.
The Dispatch understands the party, which had music on full blast and alcohol in full supply continued all night on Saturday until neighbours chased them away in the early hours of Sunday morning.
According to the manager of the establishment, they were expecting a group of 30 guests.
“I personally didn’t make the bookings myself. I was told that an intimate number of guests would have an event here. A group of about 20 came but as the night progressed an influx of people came from nowhere. You know how high school pupils are and this forced us to decide to shut down the event.”
The manager also said more chaos was caused by members of the community, who tried to use force to remove the crowd.
“The guy who stays next door owns (a security company). He started handcuffing people and everyone started running mad.”
According to eyewitness and neighbour Ian Milne, 44, the pupils, mostly underage, were “unbelievably drunk and made a lot of noise, urinating all over the street”.
Milne further said, “I live right next door to the B&B. I arrived with my family at home from a night out at 10pm to this unbelievable chaos and so we called the police, but when the Beacon Bay police arrived, they just sat inside their bakkies and did nothing.”
Mqala said Beacon Bay police management would run an internal investigation into the allegations that SAPS members who responded to the scene were not helpful.
Milne said he and some of his neighbours decided to chase the pupils on their own without the help of the police.
According to Milne, the bunch then took their party to a car park at the banks of the Bonza Bay River where they partied until dawn.
The Dispatch emailed questions to the school headmaster but didn’t draw a response. The Dispatch team even visited the school campus yesterday but was told by the headmaster’s secretary that the headmaster was at a circuit meeting.
Education department provincial spokesman, Loyiso Pulumani, said the school and the department of education would provide all of the necessary support and counselling to the victim if called upon.
“We are confident that the law will take its course, and indeed the alleged perpetrator will be speedily brought to book.” — malibongwed@dispatch.co.za
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