A 36-year-old man has appeared in court charged with raping his four-year-old niece in Malepetleke outside Mahwelereng in Mokopane.
The man, who is a brother to the victim’s mother, briefly appeared in the Mahwelereng Magistrate’s Court for a bail hearing on Tuesday. He, however, opted to stay behind bars after abandoning the bail hearing yesterday.
The accused’s case was postponed to May 6. This comes after he was arrested after he was caught allegedly raping the victim by her siblings on Friday, April 4.
Caught red-handed by victim’s siblings
It is alleged that the accused arrived at home and found the victim playing with her siblings (who are boys). He ordered the boys to go play while he took the young girl to the house to rape her. He was unaware that the other kids were watching him from outside.
The kids quickly alerted the victim’s mother, who had gone to the local shop to buy maize meal.
The man denied any knowledge of what he was being accused of, despite the fact that the child was found bleeding. The mother took the child to the local clinic, where it was confirmed that she was indeed raped, and the case was opened.
Increase in incidents of rape of minors
Police condemned the rising rate of rape cases, especially on minors. A police media statement shows that 222 rape suspects were arrested between March 31 and April 6 by far.
These include a case of a 58-year-old teacher who was arrested on March 31. He was nabbed for allegedly raping a 13-year-old female learner at The Capricorn District. A 79-year-old was arrested in Acornhoek for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl on March 30. The latest incident happened on April 2. This is where a 54-year-old man was also arrested for allegedly raping his 11-year-old neighbour in the Ritavi Policing area.
