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Man lures little girls with lies

SUFFER THE LITTLE ONES: This six-year-old from Mofolo in Soweto was raped by a stranger for two days in his shack Photo: Lucky Nxumalo
SUFFER THE LITTLE ONES: This six-year-old from Mofolo in Soweto was raped by a stranger for two days in his shack Photo: Lucky Nxumalo

A 20-year-old man lured two girls aged five and 10 to the veld, and then said he would do to them what other men were doing to their mothers.

The man then allegedly raped the children, who later revealed to their families what had happened at Rooigrond informal settlement near Mahikeng in North West on Friday.

The man was arrested on Saturday and appeared in the Mmabatho Magistrate's Court yesterday.

Provincial NPA spokesman Frank Lesenyego said the matter was transferred for the accused's first appearance in the Mmabatho Regional Court on August 14.

"He is charged with two counts of rape and is remanded in custody until his next appearance," Lesenyego said.

The girls were going to buy sweets at the local spaza shop and were on their way back when they were called by this man to accompany him to the nearby veld, they told their families.

On arrival, he told them to undress as he wanted to show them what was being done to their mothers.

"He twisted my hand and told me not to scream. He ordered me to take off my panties and told me to lie on the ground," said the 10-year-old girl, who is in Grade 3.

The girls said the man told them not to tell anyone about the incident or he would harm them.

The 10-year-old's furious 33-year-old mother was shocked. She said she took this man in and introduced him to her family because he had nowhere to go.

"He was orphaned and he seemed like a nice person. Because he was looking for a place to stay, I took him in and treated him like one of ours. I gave him food and let him stay in my house and this is how he repays me? It's painful," said the mother.

The children's families said the girls were traumatised.

The grandmother of the five-year-old said in order for her granddaughter to sleep, she doses her with medication.

"I give her the medicine she received from the hospital, it makes her sleep. During the day I make sure that she does not play alone. I am always watching her.

"This boy does not deserve to live on this planet, what he did was barbaric.

"I cannot bear the thought of him on top of my little girl," she said.

The 10-year-old lives with her mother, her six siblings and three other relatives in a two-room shack. No one in the family is working.

The five-year-old girl lives in a family of seven. Her grandmother supports the family with her social grant.

Most of the residents at Rooigrond are unemployed and rely on government grants. Some have temporary jobs at the nearby farms.

North West MEC for social development Fenny Gaolaolwe said she would send a social worker to compile a report and remove the children to an alternative place of safety.

"They will also render post-traumatic counselling to the children," she said.

P

tshehleb@sowetan.co.za

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