Woman acquitted in Winfrey S. African school scandal
Oprah Winfrey released a statement saying she is “profoundly disappointed” at the outcome of the trial in South Africa regarding abuse at the school she founded. (May 3, 2010) Credit: AP
A woman accused of abusing teenagers at Oprah Winfrey’s school for girls in South Africa has been acquitted.
Prosecutors had accused Tiny Virginia Makopo of trying to kiss and fondle the girls. She also was accused of assaulting one of the teens as well as a fellow supervisor.
Mthunzi Mhaga, a spokesman from South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority, said Monday that Makopo has been acquitted of the charges.
“The magistrate indicated that the state did not prove itself case beyond reasonable doubt on all the charges. We won’t be appealing the judgment,” Mhaga said.
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 Monday.
The lavish $40 million Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, which opened in January 2007, is the aims to give girls from deprived backgrounds a quality education in a country where schools are struggling to overcome the legacy of apartheid.
The school is spread across a 22-acre campus with neat lawns and garden paths decorated with mosaics. It has computer and science labs, a library and a wellness center. The school is home to about 300 girls from across the country.
The scandal erupted at Winfrey’s $40 million school soon after it opened in 2007 amid great fanfare.
In a statement Monday, Winfrey said she is “profoundly disappointed” at the trial outcome. Winfrey said she appreciates efforts by the prosecutor and police in seeking justice and treating the girls with utmost care and respect.
Winfrey said Monday that the school’s staff “is committed to providing a nurturing educational environment so that all of our girls may continue to flourish. And they are indeed thriving.”
'I did not live up to the standards that I try to hold for myself' Justin Timberlake appeared in a Sag Harbor court Friday to plead guilty to a lesser charge in his drunken driving case.
'I did not live up to the standards that I try to hold for myself' Justin Timberlake appeared in a Sag Harbor court Friday to plead guilty to a lesser charge in his drunken driving case.
