Cape community 'wanted to kill' alleged rapist

SAPS forced to collect rape suspect at back door to protect him from vengeful crowd

04 December 2017 - 07:59 By Tanya Farber
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A furious mob stood around the 57-year-old suspect's house, baying for his blood and rattling the gate and fence. A police truck eventually drove into the yard to load him up safely. File photo.
A furious mob stood around the 57-year-old suspect's house, baying for his blood and rattling the gate and fence. A police truck eventually drove into the yard to load him up safely. File photo.
Image: Gallo Images/Thinkstock

A little girl's life has been shattered and a Cape Town community - bursting at the seams with anger - must now wait for the law to take its course while her alleged rapist is in custody, awaiting his fate.

Joanie Fredericks, of the Mitchells Plain Crisis Forum, said: "The community eventually calmed down. There is no major police presence any more, and no tyres are being burned.

"The man has been taken into custody, and we believe the mother has been too, for negligence."

This scenario stands in sharp contrast to the events on Friday, when a furious mob stood around the 57-year-old suspect's house, baying for his blood and rattling the gate and fence, with violence spreading to other parts of the community as well.

"People were throwing stones and were going to kill him," said Fredericks.

"Even though there was frustration at the police, we think they did a fantastic job. There was nothing else they could do."

She had called for calm, and said: "Let us fight for justice as a community, but not like this. This doesn't even make sense when the object of all this violence isn't even here because he is locked up in police custody."

A police truck eventually drove into the yard of the man's premises to load him up safely.

He is expected to appear in Mitchell's Plain Magistrate's Court on Monday.

In the meantime, a seven-year-old must deal with the aftermath of her horrific ordeal, which unfolded just shortly before the mob surrounded her alleged rapist's house.

It happened only a few days ago, but according to experts the little girl faces emotional scars that are likely to last a lifetime.

Even though there was
frustration at the police, they did a fantastic job
JOANIE FREDERICKS
Mitchells Plain Crisis Forum spokesman

"Rape dehumanises children as objects for adults' sexual gratification. Rape destroys a child's integrity and leaves them struggling with physical, mental and emotional health problems for the rest of their lives," says Juliet Bonnay, who runs an online resource for communities dealing with violence.

According to the latest government crime statistics, more than 100 people were raped in Mitchells Plain - of which Tafelsig is a suburb - in the past year, but the figures do not indicate what percentage of those rapes were committed against children.

The Child Gauge 2017, released by the Children's Institute last week, estimates that "35.4% of South Africa's children experience some form of sexual abuse".

So, where to from here? How does the country protect children so that the little girl in Tafelsig and countless others don't become stats?

According to Shanaaz Mathews from the Children's Institute and Chandré Gould from the Institute for Security Studies: "It is important to prevent violence before it happens and to provide treatment and support for victims, perpetrators and child witnesses when violence has taken place.

"Violence and trauma have long-term impacts on mental and physical health and may affect ability to participate in the economy, form stable, nurturing relationships and care for children. It is essential to attend to the physical and emotional needs of victims."

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