65-year-old man appears in court for rape at Mama Esther
The 27-year-old suspect is still at large for the rape of an eight-year-old boy at the orphanage last month
MBOMBELA – A 65-year-old man has appeared at the Mbombela Magistrate Court in connection with the rapes at Mama Esther Safe Haven in Msholozi on Thursday.
The man was apprehended in Pilgrim’s Rest on Wednesday and was transported back to Mbombela. The man was identified as one of two of the orphanage’s rapists after the rape of a eight-year-old boy last month.
The boy was raped by a 27-year-old man who sneaked into the boy’s sleeping quarters in the early hours of the morning. According to police spokesman, Sgt. Gerald Sedibe, the man told the boy that his grandmother was looking for him, after-which, the boy followed him.
The man assaulted and raped the boy. After the incident, the boy ran home to his mother who does not live far from the orphanage. The boy was taken to hospital and is back in his mother’s care.
After being queried about how the rape occurred, the boy revealed that a further seven children and 20-year-old woman were also raped at the centre by the 65-year-old man.
Both men are known to the centre as they would occasionally stay there. The 27-year-old man played soccer with the children. He is still at large.
The man will appear in court again for his bail application on November 13.
