The bravery of a nine-year-old girl has led to the unmasking of a suspected serial child rapist in Daveyton on the East Rand.
On Friday, the girl saw a five-year-old child coming out of the 22-year-old man's shack in Chris Hani Extension 1 and asked her what she was doing there. She is said to have shared allegations of sexual assault with the nine-year-old, who allegedly told the little girl that she too had been abused by the man in March.
The mother of the older child said a neighbour overhead the conversation between her daughter and the five-year-old child and came to tell her about what they were talking about. “My daughter said she decided to confront the five-year-old because she knew that the 'uncle' had hurt her too.”
The conversation also led to the pointing out of other children who had apparently been seen coming out of the shack.
The suspect was arrested on Friday.
At this stage, at least four girls – the five-year-old, two nine-year-olds and an eight-year-old – have spoken out about the alleged abuse, with their parents telling Sowetan that the man allegedly asked them to buy something for him at the tuck shop and bring it to his shack, where they were allegedly violated.
The second nine-year-old girl alleged that she was abused in September while the eight-year-old said that the alleged incident happened between October and November.
Angry community members fear that the man may have abused more children in the neighbourhood.
Provincial police spokesperson Capt Mavela Masondo said: “A 22-year-old suspect was arrested on Friday and charged with two rape and two sexual assaults [cases]. He appeared in the Daveyton magistrate's court on Monday, 18 January 2021. The investigation is still ongoing.”
Masondo said the man would apply for bail soon.
All the parents Sowetan has spoken to cannot be named to protect the identities of their children.
The parents said the children were taken for medical examinations at the weekend and two are on treatment for genital infections..
The mother of the child who was allegedly raped in March said she had been hospitalised when the incident happened.
“I'm still in shock. I'm shattered because I had no idea she had been sexually abused. She [showed physical signs] that we noticed long after she was raped but we were not sure what had happened until she broke her silence,” said the mother.
The mother of the five-year-old victim said she was angry that a man she knew and trusted had allegedly raped children right under their noses.
“My daughter confirmed on Friday after I got home from work. The man told her not to tell anyone,” said the parent, adding that her child was allegedly given R3 and a lollipop for her silence.
The father of the eight-year-old girl said that his daughter had also allegedly been abused, saying he was too distraught to speak about the ordeal.
He said the man found her playing with her friends on the street in October.
The mother of the nine-year-old who was allegedly abused on September 24 said: “I'm deeply hurt by the reality I have been forced to face.”
The community said they knew little about the man, with some saying he worked at a well-known retail store.
There was no-one at the house where he lived yesterday, but Sowetan tracked down a relative who said that she had seen little girls going in and out of his shack.
“I innocently thought he just loved children and that he was sending them to the shops as an adult,” said the relative who asked not to be named.
