The Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court has denied bail to a police officer accused of raping a 15-year-old boy with whom he reportedly had been tavern-hopping last month.

NPA regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said bail was denied on Monday as the 38-year-old officer had not shown exceptional circumstances to warrant his release.

The accused is alleged to have taken the minor from where he had been playing with his friends and driving with him to different taverns on October 7.

Mahanjana said the accused and victim went to a Soshanguve tavern. “While drinking at the tavern, it is alleged that the officer asked the boy to accompany him to check if his parked car was still safe.

“When they arrived at his car, the boy passed out and when he regained consciousness in the early hours of the following morning, he found himself in the officer’s bed [who was] busy raping him.”

Mahanjana said after the rape, the accused allegedly then instructed the minor to get dressed and promised to drop him off at home.

“On their way to the victim’s home, the accused stopped on the M17 and pulled the boy out of the car and drove off.

“An uncle took the boy to hospital after he overheard him telling a male neighbour, who is said to be a close friend of the accused, what had happened to him and later reported the matter to the police.”

She said police reported the matter to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) on October 14.

“The officer voluntarily booked himself in at a wellness ward and Ipid arrested him at the hospital on the same day.”

Mahanjana said in court that the accused asked to be released on R1 000 bail due to his ill health.

Prosecutor Nkhagweleni Phanuel Madavhi, however, opposed his bail application.

Madavhi stated that the accused was facing a serious offence and that releasing him on bail would undermine the campaigns against violence against women and children.

The magistrate agreed with the state and said the accused did not prove exceptional circumstances to warrant his release on bail, explained Mahanjana.

She said the accused is expected to appear in court again on December 7 as the case was postponed for further investigations.

Meanwhile, the victim’s mother, who cannot be identified to protect the victim’s identity, welcomed the court’s decision and said it will help her sleep better at night.

“I couldn’t sleep thinking about what happened to my son. My son is not coping. He no longer writes his exams in class but instead in the principal’s office and he has private transport arranged instead of the usual school transport,” she said.

She hopes that her son would get some sleep now that the alleged perpetrator has been remanded in custody.