New bail bid: convicted 'sex pest' pastor claimed victim's mother tried to extort money from him

IN A FRESH bid for bail, a convicted "sex pest" pastor - accused of the rape and sexual assault of an 11-year-boy from his congregation - claimed that the child’s mother had falsely accused him of rape after she failed to extort money from him.

Sitham Baram Michael Andrew Chetty, 54, who ran a church from an outbuilding in Bayview, was accused of raping the boy on multiple occasions from September 2024.

He had abandoned his bail application in March.

Last Thursday, Chetty appealed to the court to release him in his new bail bid.

Chetty, who received a three year suspended sentence after he was convicted of sexually assaulting another minor in May 2019, told the court he had lost his job as a pastor since his arrest in March.

In his affidavit presented in court by his attorney, Priyanka Naicker, Chetty claimed that the boy’s mother had falsely accused him of rape after she failed to extort money from him.

“The victim was a member of the congregation at my church. I am acquainted with his family and I have known them for a lengthy period. His mother was an alcoholic and she abused her children and husband.

“The husband left her and the children to start a new life. He said he would  take the children later on. I asked the victim's mother to go for counselling because I was aware of the alleged abuse. The boy's father asked me to keep the boy with me until he could create a home for him. I fed and supported him. 

“On March 2, after church, I notified the mother that the father would take responsibility for the children and that a social worker would oversee the transition. She became enraged and said she would make sure that I am put behind bars if I give the child to anyone else. The victim came to my home with his mother to ask for food and money.

“On March 4, the mother came to my home and said she knew about the previous conviction of sexual assault against me and she would charge me for rape if I did not give her R5 000 to take care of her child each month. I refused to help her or succumb to her threats. She left the child in my care. The accusations came only after I told her that she required social worker intervention,” he claimed in his affidavit.

Chetty said he could afford R5 000 bail, which would be paid by his family.

He said he would use his skills as a carpenter and work on a part-time basis to support himself. 

The first witness for the State,  investigating officer, Constable Victor Mzobe, from the Chatsworth Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit, said the boy had alleged that he had been raped and sexually violated on “many occasions”. 

“I interviewed the boy. He indicated that the applicant (Chetty) raped him and committed acts of sexual assault. The victim said when he had any problems or needed counselling, he would go to the accused since he was a pastor at the congregation. The victim said the rape happened on a number of occasions, and not once-off,” added Mzobe.

He said he was opposed to bail because the accused was previously arrested for a similar crime.

“I am also of the opinion that if he is granted bail, his life would be in danger and the community would have a problem with it. There would not be peace. The community is angry about the allegations against the accused,” he added.

Mzobe said Chetty had one child, and his wife had died. 

In her testimony, Lieutenant-Colonel Shenlatha Raghoonundan, the station commander of the Bayview SAPS, described the community uproar she was met with on the night residents protested for Chetty’s arrest. 

“When I got to the scene, I noticed a large crowd. Stuff was burning on the road. People were streaming and swearing at each other. I realised I was dealing with two different groups of people. One was a church congregation in favour of the pastor and the other from the community, who were trying to protect the victim and his mother.

“The ‘pro pastor’ group was threatening to assault the mother. She was hiding inside one of the flats and the victim and his baby sister were being protected by residents inside another flat.

“I reversed the police van and got the mother out of the flat by making her lie flat on the back seat of the police van. She said ‘please save my children.’ I dropped her at the police station’s community services centre and went back to the scene. I then removed the boy and his sister and  also made them lie flat on the back seat so that the crowd would not spot them,” she added. 

She said she made multiple trips to and from the scene, and had eventually quelled the crowd by promising to arrest the accused by the next day.

“The crowd had broken the doors and windows at the accused’s house and were looting it. They were trying to take the church drums and I stopped them. They also threatened to burn his house. I reasoned with them, and told them the other residents in nearby flats would also be in danger if they did that.

“I promised that I would find and arrest him. They said they would come and burn down my police station if he was not arrested. I gave my personal cellphone number to hundreds of residents that night. I told them if anyone spotted him, I would pick them up because I did not know what he (Chetty) looked like and we would go and arrest him. 

“On March 19, at about 16:30, I received a call from Priyanka Naicker, informing me that she was representing the accused and that he wished to hand himself over to the police, but only on Monday. It was Wednesday. I told her that he would not dictate to the police about when he was going to hand himself over, and that he was a suspect and we would do everything in our power to arrest him immediately.

“I also told her that the entire community was looking for him and I could not guarantee his safety. She then accompanied that accused to the police station at around 19:30 and I arrested him.”

She said the boy was bullied in school due to the allegations.

“Children have made remarks that he was withdrawn because he was raped. On Friday he was attacked and victimised at school. Pupils broke his school bag and hurt his arm. I  had to get a social worker to intervene and arranged for police officers to talk to the children about bullying and victimising children,” she added.

The bail hearing continues today. 

THE POST