Oprah 'disappointed' by school abuse case ruling

A woman accused of abusing teenagers at Oprah Winfrey's school for girls in South Africa was acquitted of the charges yesterday, and Winfrey said she was "profoundly disappointed" by the trial's outcome.

Prosecutors had accused former school matron Tiny Virginia Makopo of trying to kiss and fondle girls at the school soon after it opened in 2007 outside Johannesburg, The Associated Press reports.

Makopo also had been accused of assaulting one of the teens as well as a fellow supervisor.

Winfrey had called the allegations crushing given her own stated history of childhood sexual abuse and promised an overhaul of the school.

"I will forever be proud of the nine girls who testified with the courage and conviction to be heard," Winfrey said in a statement.