SOUTH AFRICA
Daily News
January 28, 2005
By Barbara Cole
A Shembe Church pastor who allegedly lured young boys to his flat on the pretext of watching a Mr Bean movie, then sexually abused them, is being hunted by the police.
And the horrified, "disgusted and very angry" parents of five Durban boys, aged between 9-12, said yesterday they would not rest until the man, who is in his 50s, is caught.
Now, the traumatised victims and their distraught parents are undergoing counselling at the Oasis Crisis Care Centre in the city's Albany Grove.
The alleged abuse was carried out over the past three weeks, said Oasis founder and director, Merle Martin.
Fighting back tears, one victim's mother said: "This man was well known and respected in the church. My son trusted him."
The pastor, who works at a block of flats on Durban's Victoria Embankment - he did not report for duty yesterday - is said to be "the last person you would expect this sort of horrendous behaviour from," said Martin, a police reservist.
"Everyone in the community knows and respects him. He's always smiling," Martin said.
It is claimed that the paedophile pastor, who is married with children of his own, preyed on boys from a nearby block of flats, inviting them over to watch a Mr Bean video.