Oprah Winfrey was in South Africa again Sunday to meet with parents of the students at her all-girls academy and beg for their forgiveness in the wake of sexual abuse allegations at the school.
"I've disappointed you. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," the talk show host reportedly told families during the emergency meeting at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in Henley-on-Klip, south of Johannesburg.
A "dorm parent" has been accused of sexually fondling one of the students. Other pupils say they were physically abused by the woman. Another student said the matron grabbed her by the throat and threw her against a wall. There are also allegations that the authority figure swore and screamed at them.
The alleged incidents were exposed when one of the students ran away from the school because the reported abuse had become too much to bear. South African police and the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offenses Unit have opened an investigation.
Winfrey canceled appointments and flew to South Africa twice in the past few weeks to meet with parents and check in on the investigation. In addition to the matron suspected of being involved, Winfrey also placed the principal and at least one other matron on leave two weeks ago, reportedly for failing to notify authorities of girls' complaints sooner. Only the principal was on paid leave, according to a South African newspaper.
The TV host, who has spoken openly about being abused as a child, gave the students her personal telephone number, e-mail address and her postal address so that they could contact her at any time, day or night.
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