Child rape suspect remain in police custody

A 40-year-old man, who was arrested for allegedly raping an 11-year-old deaf girl, will remain in police custody.

The accused, who is a nearby neighbour to the victim, briefly appeared at the Mamelodi magistrate’s court on December 1. The case was remanded to December 7 for bail application.

The suspect, who is from Mamelodi East, handed himself over to the police, following a heated confrontation with the victim’s father. According to the victim’s parents, the suspect reportedly raped the girl on November 8, after grabbing her while she was playing with her friends in the street. “Our daughter is a grade 4 learner who is struggling with her speech, but she was able to communicate about the incident,” the parents said.

The minor’s father said the justice system must set an example with the suspect. “We know the man and trusted him since our daughter was friends with his daughter and they played together almost every day,” he told Record. The father said they started noticing unusual behaviour from their daughter as she started isolating herself from everyone and always stayed in her bedroom sleeping all day.

She reportedly told her mother that the suspect took her inside his house where he locked her in the bedroom and slapped her before raping her. The mother said her daughter could not scream for help as she was struggling with her speech. Her daughter said she escaped when the suspect’s daughter came into the house looking for her. The family immediately took the child to a hospital.

After she was examined, it was allegedly found that the child was raped. The girl’s mother was also at the police station at the time accompanied by her cousin, busy opening a case, when the suspect handed himself over. Police spokesperson Constable Lethabo Mashiloane confirmed the incident.

Community members said the suspect made the right decision by handing himself to the police station because they were going to “deal with him” before handing him over to the police. They pleaded with the court not to grant the suspect bail. The residents threatened to “deal” with the suspect should the court grant him bail during his next appearance.

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