A staff member at Oprah Winfrey's elite girls' school in South Africa has been arrested on charges of abuse in a case that has drawn direct intervention from the billionaire US talk-show queen, according to dpa. The former dormitory employee from the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls outside Johannesburg was arrested on Thursday on charges of alleged assault, indecent assault, crimen injuria and soliciting underage girls to perform indecent acts, Gauteng province police said Friday. The suspect, 27, was due to appear in court on Monday. At least seven victims had submitted statements in the case, police said. The abuse allegations first surfaced in South African media in mid-October after the school announced it had suspended a dormitory matron for misconduct. One pupil was reported by Rapport newspaper to have fled the school, claiming the abuse had become intolerable. The scandal had prompted Winfrey to make two crisis visits to the school, during which she had apologized to parents telling them "I've disappointed you. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," Rapport reported. The talk-show mogul, who was born into poverty and has spoken about being abused as a child, opened the school in early 2006 at a cost of close to 300 million rand (around 46 million dollars). "I wanted to give this opportunity to girls who had a light so bright that not even poverty could dim that light," Winfrey said said at the opening, which was attended by a host of celebrities including former South African President Nelson Mandela and singers Mary J Blige and Mariah Carey. Winfrey personally interviewed many of the 150 girls who were selected to study at the school, which boasts a well-stocked library, gym, sports fields and theatre.
