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Teen boy arrested for rape of 3 nieces

ABUSE OF INNOCENCE: Three little girls, aged four and six, have been raped, allegedly by their teenage uncle. Photo: Bafana Mahlangu
ABUSE OF INNOCENCE: Three little girls, aged four and six, have been raped, allegedly by their teenage uncle. Photo: Bafana Mahlangu

A SOWETO family is divided following the arrest of a 17-year-old boy who allegedly raped his three nieces. Two of the children are 4 years old and the other is aged 6.

The children and their parents cannot be named to protect their identities.

The youth's alleged activities were exposed when a relative found the children acting out what he had done to them.

"One of them had taken off her trousers and panties. My cousin asked them what they were doing and they said they were playing ukujola (dating)," said one of the mothers whose child was abused.

"She asked where they had seen this and they said that their uncle had done it with them several times. He would take them into the bedroom in the house, undress them and then one by one penetrate them."

Struggling to hold back the tears another parent, 35, said: "I am badly affected by this. I think about it all the time. I imagine it every night. My child has never seen me have sex and I am sure she has never seen any other person have sex."

Police spokesman Warrant Officer Kay Makhubele confirmed the arrest.

"The children were taken to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital for medical examinations. The boy was later arrested and charged with rape.

"The boy is being kept at a place of safety and is expected to appear in the Protea Magistrate's Court today," Makhubele said.

The arrest has caused tensions in the family, with the accused's mother calling on the victim's parents to move out of the house.

Another family member said: "Our cousin [the boy's mother] says that my cousin and sister [the girls' parents] must move out because her son is going to get bail and would not want to live with them. This is a family house and they are not going anywhere. If anyone should move out, it's her."

Gauteng department of community safety spokesman Thapelo Moiloa said the incident showed the "deteriorating of values we have as people".

Childline Gauteng director Lynne Cawood said: "The society, including the criminal justice system, should assist in bringing closure to this matter."

Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities spokesman Cornelius Monama said: "This incident is shocking, tragic and sad. It reminds us of the grave nature of sexual violence and child abuse in our country."

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