Molesting pta mother, boyfriend convicted

PRETORIA - A Pretoria North mother and her ex-boyfriend were on Wednesday convicted of raping, sodomising and repeatedly indecently assaulting the woman's six-year-old daughter.

The High Court in Pretoria found the woman, 38, guilty on a charge of rape, five charges of indecent assault, one of assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm, two of assault and a charge of allowing or assisting in the molestation of her daughter.

Her ex-boyfriend, 26, who is also the father of her four-year-old son, was convicted on eight charges relating to the rape, indecent assault and assault of the young girl.

Judge Joseph Raulinga rejected the mother's plea that she acted in a state of automatism and had no recollection of the assaults because of her use of alcohol and sleeping pills.

Raulinga said she had not proved she was one of the rare cases where the use of the particular sleeping tablets resulted in amnesia. She had not proved that using the tablets resulted in criminal behaviour.

She also contradicted herself about the amount of sleeping pills she had used. If she could lie about that, she could also lie about her involvement in the crimes, the judge said.

He concluded the mother knew very well what she was doing and knew it was wrong.

Raulinga rejected her ex-boyfriend's claims that he had never touched the girl and was an innocent victim of circumstances "with the contempt it deserves".

The court found that the little girl, now 10 and living with her grandmother, had according to medical evidence, been sodomised and raped at least three times, although the accused only faced one rape charge.

She was also sexually abused with sticks, branches, dagga and a vibrator strapped to her mother's waist and was forced to drink sleeping pills.

When the little girl screamed in pain during the abuse, her mother held her hand over the child's mouth to keep her quiet and once stuffed a piece of cloth in her mouth, which she fastened with sticky tape.

A social worker said in a report handed to the court the girl regarded her mother as a "monster" and was too afraid to testify in open court.

Raulinga said the girl had never referred to her mother as her parent, but as an aunt.

He said he had no hesitation in accepting the little girl's evidence as the truth. She had never contradicted herself and had spontaneously told several witnesses about the abuse she had to endure.

The trial was postponed to March 16 for sentencing proceedings.

Raulinga withdrew bail, and the convicted pair will remain in custody.

- Sapa