Warning from mother of Mamelodi Facebook rapist victim
'Don’t go alone to meet anyone. Invite him to come to your home to meet your mother or your parents,' she said.
‘Facebook Rapist’ Sedzani Ndou, 18, who was convicted of raping and robbing five victims in Mamelodi, Tshwane. Picture: Ilse de Lange
The mother of a 16-year-old schoolgirl, who fell victim to the so-called Mamelodi Facebook rapist, has warned young women not to set up lone meetings with men they met on the social media platform – no matter what they look like.
The single mother told The Citizen how her daughter was battling to cope after being raped by Sedzani Ndou, 18, and then finding out two months ago that she was HIV-positive.
“One day she would be fine and taking selfies and smiling and I would think ‘that’s my girl, she’s a fighter’, but the next day she would be tired and sad all the time and just want to sleep.
“She’s never been the same. As Christians, I believe we will one day forgive him, but at the moment she is still very, very angry with him,” she said.
The mother only found out about the rape when the police phoned her and she believes her daughter never wanted her to know, because she had lied about studying with a friend.
The mother now encourages her daughter to talk openly about her ordeal, hoping it will give her the courage to start with her studies in criminal psychology.
She warned other young women not to befriend strangers on Facebook and arrange to meet them alone.
“Don’t go alone to meet anyone. Just don’t go at all. Invite him to come to your home to meet your mother or your parents,” she said.
Her advice to parents was to be cautious with their children, even if it meant invading their privacy to see who they were communicating with.
Ndou was earlier convicted in the High Court in Pretoria on 16 charges for repeatedly raping, sexually abusing and robbing five young women in Mamelodi in 2016 and 2017.
Ndou had befriended girls on Facebook using the photo of a well-known sport star. He started chatting to them on WhatsApp after getting their cellphone numbers and then set up meetings.
He pretended to be the cousin of the sport star who was going to take them to him, but instead lured them into the bushes where he raped them.
Legal argument will be presented in the trial on Friday.
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