The North Gauteng High Court on Friday heard how a used-car salesman and father of five had strung his 13-year-old between two steel pillars‚ assaulted the children with a blowtorch and locked them in cupboards‚ You magazine reports.
He allegedly kept his wife and five children‚ aged between two and 16‚ captive in the house for several years.
The man and his wife‚ who cannot be named to protect the children’s identities‚ face 22 charges‚ including rape‚ sexual assault‚ child neglect and abuse and possession and dealing in drugs. She’s pleaded not guilty to all charges‚ and he only to guilty for trying to stop a police officer from carrying out his job.
Both parents were in court on Friday‚ but did not sit together. He wore a purple chequered shirt; she wore a black top with silver stripes.
The high court was given a virtual tour of the Springs home‚ dubbed the “house of horrors”. It showed the steel pillars and blankets and clothes next to a hole under the house.
The family’s fraught situation was discovered in May 2014 when the boy escaped and ran to a neighbour for help.
Social worker Jolene Fouche testified of her encounter with the family the day she removed four of the five children from their parents’ care‚ Jacarandafm reported. The other son was at his aunt’s house in Warden.
Warrant Officer Lourens Smit testified that when he went to the Warden house the child’s “eyes were beaten blue. One of his cheeks was also blue and he had a cut on his one ear”‚ You reported.
The couple’s oldest daughter‚ and their son who ran to their neighbours for help‚ have been testifying in camera over the past week.
Court hears details of Springs ‘house of horrors’
The North Gauteng High Court on Friday heard how a used-car salesman and father of five had strung his 13-year-old between two steel pillars‚ assaulted the children with a blowtorch and locked them in cupboards‚ You magazine reports.
He allegedly kept his wife and five children‚ aged between two and 16‚ captive in the house for several years.
The man and his wife‚ who cannot be named to protect the children’s identities‚ face 22 charges‚ including rape‚ sexual assault‚ child neglect and abuse and possession and dealing in drugs. She’s pleaded not guilty to all charges‚ and he only to guilty for trying to stop a police officer from carrying out his job.
Both parents were in court on Friday‚ but did not sit together. He wore a purple chequered shirt; she wore a black top with silver stripes.
The high court was given a virtual tour of the Springs home‚ dubbed the “house of horrors”. It showed the steel pillars and blankets and clothes next to a hole under the house.
The family’s fraught situation was discovered in May 2014 when the boy escaped and ran to a neighbour for help.
Social worker Jolene Fouche testified of her encounter with the family the day she removed four of the five children from their parents’ care‚ Jacarandafm reported. The other son was at his aunt’s house in Warden.
Warrant Officer Lourens Smit testified that when he went to the Warden house the child’s “eyes were beaten blue. One of his cheeks was also blue and he had a cut on his one ear”‚ You reported.
The couple’s oldest daughter‚ and their son who ran to their neighbours for help‚ have been testifying in camera over the past week.