A knife-wielding man believed to be in his 30s has sexually attacked two East London children on their enforced walk to school leaving them hurt‚ abused and traumatised.

An eight-year-old child walking to school with them was told not to watch.

Two 14-year-old neighbourhood friends‚ a girl and a boy‚ and the little boy‚ were forced to endure an unspeakable and grotesque sexual pantomime for the attacker which included performing acts on each other.

When he was finished watching the two teenagers‚ he raped the girl.

Daily Dispatch queries in the community on Thursday revealed the bushy area had a history of similar attacks.

Provincial education spokesman Mali Mtima said the department strongly condemned the horrifying attack.

“Incidents like these tend to psychologically paralyse pupils for life‚ all because of people’s lust. We condemn‚ in the strongest terms‚ criminals who ruin children’s lives‚” said Mtima.

Police spokesman Colonel Mtati Tana said a case of rape had been opened at Scenery Park police station on Thursday morning.

“No one has been arrested so far‚ but police are following leads and an arrest is expected soon‚” Tana said.

The attack happened at 7am on Thursday in the bush while the children were walking the 5km from their homes in Chicken Farm to schools in NU2 in Mdantsane.

Residents believe the sex thug is from NU3 in Mdantsane.

“He told the children (teens) to take their clothes off and tied up the boy with a rope. He told the girl to perform acts on the boy and then on himself [the attacker]‚” said the girl’s distraught guardian.

She wept throughout the interview. She is not being named to protect the identity of the children.

She said the attacker told the youngest child to look away.

When he was finished he used the girl’s underwear to wipe semen off himself and was about to rape her again when the children heard voices and started screaming for help.

“That is when he ran away‚” she said.

The mother of the teenage boy‚ who is also not being named to protect the minor‚ said her son had also been robbed of his shoes.

She said a child and an elderly woman‚ believed to be a cook at one of the schools in Mdantsane‚ were raped at the same place last month.

A pupil has also been mugged there.

Chicken Farm committee chairwoman Andisiwe Gwangxu said such criminal acts were becoming the norm.

Chicken Farm resident Nomawethu Vimbani said they had complained to the education department about the dangerous walk to school‚ but nothing had happened.

“This is not the first child that has been raped in that bush. Many parents in the community have case numbers to prove that. Last weekm my child was also assaulted in that bush.

“She and two other girls were forced to take their panties off and the man touched their private parts. They were lucky because a truck passing by distracted the man and they managed to flee‚” she said.

Mtima said the girl has been referred to the Thuthuzela Centre at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital. Responding to the residents’ complaints about a lack of scholar transport being to blame for the attacks‚ Mtima said the department’s resources were constrained.

“There is scholar transport in that area but it is not enough for everyone. The community is continuously growing‚” he said.