Parents of learners at AB Xuma Primary School in Soweto expressed relief after the scholar patroller who allegedly sexually assaulted 87 learners abandoned his bail application.

The 57-year-old appeared briefly in the Protea Magistrate’s Court yesterday‚ where he stands accused of three counts of rape and five counts of sexual assault.

 The accused’s lawyer‚ Dennis Mabasa‚ told the court that his client opted to abandon his bail application until investigations were concluded.

 The 57-year-old covered his head with a jacket throughout court proceedings‚ almost walking into a wall after proceedings.

 One of the parents in attendance said she was happy that the accused would be in custody as this would minimise the risk of him preying on young girls.

 “We don’t know if he did this to our kids only. Maybe even in his community he did the same things. We are very happy that he abandoned his bail because we don’t know if he was going to be safe if he was released‚” the parent said.

 She added that she was happy with the support they have been receiving from the Department of Education.

“The Department has been helping us with counselling. My daughter is still traumatised but she’s getting better‚” she said.

 State prosecutor Cheryl Slack told the court earlier that the state was not in a position to continue with proceedings as the accused had not been through an identity parade.

 “The ID parade didn’t materialise because there was an issue at the parade regarding the accused’s legal representation. The accused said Mr Mabasa was no longer his legal representative and that he had asked for Legal Aid to represent him‚” Slack told the court.

 Magistrate Ronald Zakhwe postponed the matter for November for further investigation and for an identity parade to be conducted.