A 28-year-old man accused of sexually grooming a minor and statutory rape appeared in Seshego Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

The accused is alleged to be the father of a child born to a 13-year-old girl on Christmas Day at Seshego Hospital, outside Polokwane in Limpopo.

Deputy minister of police Polly Boshielo has condemned as a ‘heinous crime’ the alleged statutory rape and subsequent impregnation of the teenager.

Boshielo was in the Seshego Magistrate’s Court on Monday, where 28-year-old Ditebogo Gololo appeared on charges of sexually grooming a minor and statutory rape.

“I hope this heinous crime does not happen again. The scourge of teenage pregnancy is very bad in this country. For the financial year under review, 2023/2024, 29 150 gender-based violence and femicide perpetrators were arrested.

“Out of them, 556 accused were handed down life sentences, 480 sentenced between 10 and 20 years, and 998 sentenced between one and nine years. In Limpopo, there has been a challenge of rape cases involving children, especially in the Seshego and Matlala policing areas.

“I have instructed SAPS in the province to implement a programme to address these social issues,” Boshielo said.

In a statement, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said Gololo allegedly groomed the child after meeting her at a mall in January. They ‘became intimate in May’.

The minor only revealed the incident to her aunt after experiencing complications, and later in November, medical tests confirmed she was eight months pregnant. She gave birth to a boy on Christmas Day, the NPA said.

Gololo was arrested a day after the birth.

“The docket will be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions for directives. The matter is postponed for bail application and further investigations to January 8, at Seshego Magistrate’s Court.

“Gololo is remanded in custody.” – SAnews.gov.za