Durban — A 10-year-old child alleged to have been raped more than once by her grandmother’s lover is now suicidal.
This was according to the little girl’s mother who spoke to the Daily News outside the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court after the man’s appearance before the regional court.
“She is talking about killing herself because she blames herself for what happened. All this is putting emotional strain on us as a family,” said the mother.
The matter was adjourned to July to give time for the 42-year-old man’s defence counsel to consult with its witnesses as well as its own medical expert, something that the child’s mother described as delaying tactics on the part of the accused.
She said that the child, in primary school, was still struggling with the emotional trauma.
“My daughter has days when she breaks down. She is constantly writing very emotional letters when she relives the alleged rapes.”
It is said the family came to know about the abuse after the little girl’s grandmother walked into the bedroom to allegedly find her lover on top of her granddaughter.
The accused was arrested last year in September after the matter was reported to police. It is alleged that the victim was raped repeatedly by the accused.
He is currently out on R4 000 bail on the condition that he relocate and have no contact with the victim and her family. The victim’s mother said the ordeal was emotionally taxing for the family, and that this was exacerbated by the fact that the justice system was taking so long to conclude the case.
“The justice system is giving him more time to prepare. I don’t think that it is fair that someone who is out there on bail is being given time to prepare to plead his case knowing full well what he has done. If it were up to me, I’d like to see things move more speedily so the trial can be concluded and he is sentenced already as this is all taking its toll on our family, and more especially my child. I feel that all this is a waste of our time, coming to court and the matter not getting anywhere.”
Speaking outside court Arvina Arjoon of Arvina Harricharan Attorneys on watching brief for the minor child said that in court the accused’s attorney had said he would require time to consult with defence witnesses.
“He also indicated that he was getting his own medical expert to examine the reports provided by the State in respect of the allegations. The matter was adjourned to July 12 for pretrial.”
The man appeared in court where Patriotic Alliance members who came in support of the family were seated in the gallery. Party members were clad in their green T-shirts while other community members wore red ones with messages condemning child abuse.
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