Scandal At Oprah's Academy

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More details of the alleged misconduct by a dorm parent at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa have surfaced. According to Fox News, an Afrikaans-language newspaper reported that the female employee is accused of various incidents of physical and sexual abuse against the students.

The woman, who has since been removed from the campus, allegedly grabbed a girl by the throat and threw her against a wall. Other alleged charges were that she swore and screamed at the girls, assaulted them and had sexually fondled at least one of them, according to Rapport newspaper.

The alleged incidents went public after one of the pupils ran away from the school because the abuse had become intolerable, according to Rapport. Her parents immediately notified the school.

Winfrey, herself the victim of childhood sexual abuse, immediately caught a flight to South Africa to check on the allegations. She is said to have arrived just over a week ago, missing an important Hollywood engagement. She then returned unexpectedly on Friday and left again on Sunday, reports Fox News.

The TV mogul met with the school’s executive and private investigators and held a two-hour meeting with the parents of her students, who were flown to Johannesburg from all over the country. A report by a private investigator flown in from the United States to conduct an inquiry with a South African counterpart has been turned over to the local police.

In her only public comment about the incident, Winfrey issued a statement saying: “Nothing is more serious or devastating to me than an allegation of misconduct by an adult against any girl at the academy.”

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