School reduces Oprah to tears

A dormitory matron accused of indecent assault on pupils at Oprah Winfrey’s school for disadvantaged girls...

A dormitory matron accused of indecent assault on pupils at Oprah Winfrey’s school for disadvantaged girls was freed on bail Monday, hours before the US celebrity is to answer media questions about the scandal.

Tiny Virginia Makopo (27) faces 13 charges of indecent assault, assault and criminal injury committed against at least six students aged 13-15 and a 23-year-old at the school. She said she was innocent when the charges were read during a bail hearing in Johannesburg, and the magistrate allowed her to go free on a bond of US$450. Makopo, who was arrested on Thursday, was not asked to plead formally.

The school, opened in January amid much fanfare, announced on October 17 that a dormitory matron had been suspended amid allegations of serious misconduct. The South Africa media reported that Winfrey made a tearful apology to parents and pupils in a recent meeting at the school. The reports said the woman is accused of physically abusing pupils and fondling at least one of them.

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The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls said it had hired private US and South African detectives to investigate, as well as reporting allegations to the South African Police.

In a statement posted on the school’s Website on Friday, Winfrey had said: “It is my deepest hope that the accused is brought to justice and that this serves as a reminder that any time a child has the courage to step forward, it is our duty as adults to listen and take immediate action.”

Winfrey is to answer reporters’ questions in South Africa through a satellite link teleconference from the US on Monday.

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