Department of Social Development wants raped Baby M’s father to face charges

Baby M’s mother was sentenced to life behind bars for shielding her child's rapist from prosecution - and now the Department of Social Development in Gauteng is pushing for her father to face the same charges.

Department spokesperson Mbangwa Xaba has confirmed that officials intend to “petition the court” for Baby M’s father to face charges over his claims that his infant daughter wasn’t raped‚ but was rather injured after a fight between him and the baby’s mother.

The father also insisted that the semen found on the baby’s nappy and private parts should be retested. Despite medical evidence that the baby showed no sign of having suffered the trauma of a fall‚ but showed massive internal damage caused by rape‚ he was adamant that she had been injured by accident.

Xaba has also confirmed that department staff‚ working with the relevant authorities‚ have removed Baby M from the custody of her mother’s family.

“We have placed the child in a place of safety through a court order‚” he said.

Her father previously confirmed to eNCA’s Checkpoint that he sees the child nearly every two months. He claimed the toddler‚ who had five operations to repair the damage done to her tiny body by her rapist‚ is “fine”.

He denied raping the baby.

“I won’t father a child and then rape her‚ a two month old baby. I don’t know what rape is‚” he said.