A 70-year-old pensioner from Chrisville in Johannesburg South, has given away her pets and plans to sell her house after she was assaulted and raped in her home by a man who used to work for her.

The woman says she is still traumatised by the ordeal and the phrase ‘Today I will rape and kill you’ that was uttered by her attacker twice, keeps ringing in her ears.

During her interview with The Southern Courier the woman burst out in tears while recalling the suffering she endured.

“This case is upsetting because I know the perpetrator. He used to clean my yard and the cages for my animals. On the day [of the attack] while driving home, I met him on the street. He waved at me, and I waved back. It was after 13:00, and I was on my way home to start preparing for an online meeting at 14:30.

“Later, while I was cleaning the hutch when he came knocking at my gate. I opened for him, and he took the rake to continue cleaning. I then went inside the house. I was surprised when I saw him come to me wanting a razor to shave. He cornered me in my bathroom, and that’s when he repeatedly said, ‘Today I will rape and kill you’.

“He knocked me down and put his hand inside my mouth to muzzle me. After that, I didn’t know what happened because I was unconscious,” she explains.

Deon Pretorius, who lives on the same street as the victim, says he was worried when he didn’t see his neighbour for a while. He went to look for her in her house and discovered her lying on the floor, half-naked and half-unconscious.

“It was 18:15 when I found her in bloodied, torn clothes. In that state, she managed to tell me who the perpetrator was. After calling the ambulance and the police, I tracked down the perpetrator, and he was arrested. I found him with blood stains on his clothes and his trouser still unzipped,” he says.

The victim says the perpetrator demanded her watch, ring, and keys to her house and gate. The ring was later found on the floor. Her watch and keys are still missing.

The woman is convinced that, had police followed up the many burglary cases she opened in the past, the rape would not have happened.

She has given away her pigeons and rabbits and plans to sell the house.

Booysens SAPS communication officer Captain Lorraine van Emmerik says the accused appeared in court on June 29. The case has been passed to the SAPS Family Violence, Child Protection, and Sexual Offences Unit.

The accused is expected to appear again on July 13 after he was denied bail during his first appearance.