Iain Wares, former teacher, surrenders to authorities over international child abuse charges
Iain Wares, 85, accused of multiple sexual assaults.
Image: File
Former SA teacher, Iain Wares, 86, has handed himself over to the authorities at the Simon’s Town courthouse, in the latest UK consolidation request of charges relating to the sexual and physical abuse of 65 boys, with the indictment listing 90 charges in total.
Just two weeks ago, Wares, who is facing a separate case in Cape Town, South Africa, dating back to four decades ago involving an allegation of indecent assault of a former learner of his at Rondebosch Boys Preparatory, denied the claims while taking the witness stand.
Police spokesperson, Sergeant Wesley Twigg confirmed that Wares went directly to the court house to face his fate.
Cape Argus has since reached out to INTERPOL to confirm whether they formed part of his arrest involving the extradition process and the National Prosecuting Authority was also contacted.
Women and Men Against Child Abuse ( WMACA) who has been advocating in the matter for years said this was a victory.
“This morning, 86-year-old former teacher and self-confessed pedophile Iain Wares handed himself in at the Simon’s Town Magistrates’ Court, where he was formally arrested under a Warrant 4 - the latest and consolidated UK extradition request charging him with the sexual and physical abuse of 65 prepubescent boys in Scotland during the 1960s and 1970s. The indictment lists 90 charges in total,” it said in a formal statement released.
“After decades of evasion and 7 years of administrative delay, the arrest marks a watershed moment for survivors and advocates on both sides of the equator.”
Wares was granted bail and will return to court on November 20 2025, when the magistrate will determine whether he is extraditable on those charges, WMACA indicated.
”We believe that the Minister of Justice will then issue a Section 11 surrender warrant for Interpol to arrest Wares, once we hear the judgement in the local case, and he can be flown to Scotland.”
Neil Douglas, spokesperson for the UK victims, and a survivor himself said it was a moment they were waiting for as it was an emotional and victorious breakthrough for everyone: “The arrest of Iain Wares for the abuse of boys in Scotland is a moment of release for many of us.
"This man sexually and physically abused hundreds of boys and has escaped justice for over half a century. It is only through the tireless work of WMACA and the survivors that we have got to this point. When the text came through saying he had been arrested and will attend court on the 20th November, I cried. I really cannot believe that just maybe he will answer to his crimes in a Scottish Court.”
WMACA added that despite decades of evidence and survivor testimony, Wares has never once expressed remorse.
“He has admitted to touching and molesting young boys in his care, yet continues to portray himself as a harmless old man, a narrative WMACA firmly rejects,” it stated.
Luke Lamprecht, Head of Advocacy at WMACA said Wares pretends to be fragile to manipulate the system: ““Wares is not an old, fragile man,” said “He is a career sex offender. His age doesn’t change the fact that he deliberately and repeatedly preyed on children. His victims are now middle-aged men who still carry the trauma he caused. His frailty is physical — his cruelty was always intentional.”
According to WMACA The UK survivors have accused Edinburgh Academy and Fettes College of failing to alert the authorities of complaints against Wares, enabling him to leave for South Africa in 1979, where he taught until his retirement in 2006.
WMACA Founding Director and veteran children’s rights activist, Miranda Jordan, has fiercely criticised the delays and leniency in the case: “WMACA fought to bring this case to court, meeting with Justice officials and keeping pressure on through the media even when it made us unpopular. For seven years, Wares dodged justice with legal tricks and secret funders helping him.”
“Those who enabled him, schools, psychiatric professionals, and protectors, all have blood on their hands. Perpetrators must know: you will be pursued. True justice means Wares must face every survivor he harmed, and only his extradition to the UK will bring closure for victims of one of the worst pedophiles in recent history.”
“This moment is for those courageous survivors who refused to be silenced and made this arrest possible.”
The survivor embroiled in the protracted Cape Town trial said: “The wheels of Justice are finally catching up with this evil, evil man."
During his time on the stand two weeks ago, Wares claimed he did not physically or sexually abuse the Cape Town victim during the 1980s.
The victim, dubbed “Stephen”, took the witness stand a year ago, claiming he was abused by Wares who had been his teacher at Rondebosch Boys’ Preparatory during 1988.
Wares is accused of indecently assaulting the male victim by touching his buttocks and penis and rubbing his penis up against the victim.