Oprah Winfrey School Trial Delayed by Three Months  4/27/08

The former employee accused of abusing children at Oprah Winfrey's all-girls academy in South Africa has had her trial postponed until July (08).

Former dorm matron Tiny Virginia Mokgobo was arrested in October (07) on 14 charges including assault, indecent assault and soliciting underage girls to perform indecent acts.

She is accused of committing the crimes at Winfrey's Henley-on-Klip Leadership Academy over a period of four months in 2007.

Mokgobo appeared in Sebokeng magistrates court, south of Johannesburg, on Friday (25Apr08), when Magistrate Thelma Simpson set a new trial date of 29 July (08).

The decision follows Monday's (21Apr08) court proceedings, when Simpson granted a motion by Mokgobo's lawyer to delay the trial until a further date to allow him more time to consult with his client. The trial was originally due to begin on Monday.

Mokgobo, who has previously expressed her innocence in the charges, is expected to formally enter her plea when she next appears in court on 29 July.

Winfrey co-founded the academy in 2006, and in late 2007, issued a heartfelt apology to the students who suffered at the hands of school officials.

 

 

 

 

 

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