Wentworth woman speaks out after brutal assault

LUCKY to be alive after she was held captive and beaten for three hours, Domanique van der Haar (19), is forced to relive the torture she experienced every time she sees her attacker.

24-year-old Jaleel Lindhorst, who lives one house away from Domanique, was granted bail of R500 after he appeared in Wentworth Magistrate’s Court on August 26 for the attempted murder of Domanique. Despite him violating a protection order taken out against him on August 25, Lindhorst was rearrested and again, granted bail.

Believing that stricter laws need to be put into place for men who are accused of gender based violence, Wentworth Angels founder, Tracey Williams, an advocate for abused women, is calling on the community to support Domanique and call for harsher sentences and stricter bail conditions for perpetrators of domestic violence.

In an exclusive interview with Southlands SUN, Domanique said she met Lindhorst on August 22 to tell him that she no longer wanted to pursue any relationship with him.

“He has never beat me, or shown any signs of having a temper problem. I thought that we would have a decent conversation like we always do and that we would part ways. After we spoke for a short while, he suddenly became enraged and struck me with his fists. He locked me inside his house. Thereafter, I could not tell what he used or how many times he hit me. I lost consciousness twice. He threatened me with a knife and when I begged to be released, he handed me the knife and told me that I needed to kill him then I could escape. I could not do it. I was beaten again. It was only until his uncle came home that I knew I would be free. His uncle took him away, and I ran home, which is one house away from his,” said Domanique .

Williams urges residents to stand together against gender based violence and also encouraged victims to notify court officials of their concerns wherever there are any problems with cases.

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“When this case was brought to my attention, the accused was already granted bail. Gender based violence is a serious crime and the justice system fails women in cases like these, especially this case, where Domanique was still battered and hospitalised while the man accused of brutally attacking her is granted bail and is allowed to walk the streets as a menace to not only others, but himself too. A young, innocent, beautiful young woman was nearly bashed to death. Our justice system once again failed us and it failed her, as we see this happen too often, where perpetrators walk the streets as if nothing happened while the victim lives in fear,” Williams said.

Domanique spent two weeks in hospital after she suffered extensive injuries during the assault. She has lost hearing in one ear and is undergoing trauma counselling.
A comment from Wentworth SAPS could not be obtained at the time of going to print.