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In 2019, ‘Fiona Viotti’ was the fifth-most Googled term in South Africa.
Fast forward a year, and 2020’s most Googled terms include ‘coronavirus’, ‘lockdown’, ‘load shedding’, and ‘Cigarettes ban South Africa’.
2019 really was a simpler time.
Given that the previous investigation into Viotti’s conduct received ample coverage at the time, we won’t rehash too much of that.
Via News24, here’s the latest:
The SA Council for Educators (SACE) has closed its file in its probe against former Bishops Diocesan College teacher Fiona Viotti who was found, by the school, to have engaged in sexual misconduct with five boys from 2013 to 2019.
This was due to a lack of cooperation from witnesses.
SACE said the investigation report was presented to its ethics committee on 3 December.
“In light of the fact that no parent was prepared to allow any of their children to make any statements to SACE, [the] council had no option but to provisionally close the matter with the hope that maybe we may one day come across witnesses [who] will be willing to assist us with our investigations,” SACE spokesperson Themba Ndhlovu said in a statement.
SACE had originally pushed the date of the presentation back from October 15 to December 3, in the hopes that an additional pupil may assist the investigation.
However, via his legal representation, that pupil later declined to be interviewed.
William Booth, who represents Viotti, said there was no evidence of criminal conduct on his client’s part, because the witnesses were not prepared to testify against her.
During Bishops’ own investigation, carried out by lawyers appointed by the school, Viotti was found to have broken the rules laid out by the school’s code of conduct, as well as SACE’s code of ethics.
She resigned when the news first broke, and it’s reported that her marriage has since ended.
[source:news24]
