An explicit video of a nude woman on a bed has been loaded on to a well-known, free pornographic website citing the name of Fiona Viotti, 30, the Bishops Diocesan College water polo coach who resigned last week amid allegations of a sexual affair with a matric pupil.
Various explicit videos and pictures of a woman many claim to be Viotti have been doing the rounds on social media and WhatsApp since the story broke last week. News24 has not been able to independently verify whether the woman in the visual material is indeed Viotti.
On Thursday, William Booth, Viotti's attorney, told News24 he would be taking steps to have the video removed from the website as it was posted without her permission. Booth added that any private messages, photos or videos sent by one person to another could not be distributed without the sender's approval.
Viotti reportedly left Bishops with immediate effect last week. The school reportedly appointed an attorney to investigate what the principal described as "serious misconduct".
No crime was being investigated as the pupil in question was not underaged.
According to IOL, Viotti was allegedly involved in a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old matric pupil at the Rondebosch school in Cape Town.
Weekend Argus reported that the pupil had tried to break off the relationship. According to a source, Viotti reportedly sent threatening WhatsApp messages to the learner.
William Booth, Viotti's attorney, reportedly said on Wednesday that he would be taking steps to have the video removed from the website as it was posted without Viotti's permission.
According to Netwerk24, the video had been viewed 4 500 times by Wednesday afternoon.
Fiona Viotti on her wedding day. (Twitter/Son)
News24 earlier reported that more pupils have been "affected over a number of years" by the alleged "serious misconduct" of Viotti.
READ | Bishops teacher: Several boys have been 'affected over a number of years', says school
"We have confirmed that there have been several boys who have been affected over a number of years," school principal Guy Pearson said in a statement on Tuesday.
Pearson said the school was doing everything it could to ensure the mental well-being of pupils, staff, and others affected by the "very sad events".
He appealed for respect of the dignity and privacy of the people affected, while the investigation continued.
The school has also made psychologists, employed by the Bishops Support Unit, as well as external clinical psychologists and psychiatrists available to any boy or family member that may have been affected by the events.
Viotti is the daughter of Dave Mallett, who is a history teacher at the school and coaches the first rugby team and the granddaughter of Anthony Mallett, the school's headmaster from 1964 to 1982, Sunday Times reported.
Viotti, who married long-term boyfriend Pavo Viotti in September last year, was reportedly a water polo star as a teenager and was one of the "Beauties of Sport" featured in Sports Illustrated magazine in 2009. The couple has reportedly separated.
- Compiled by Riaan Grobler