Alleged Dros rapist's mental health assessment to be raised in court

A report from the Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital is on Friday expected to give clarity on whether the 20-year-old man who is alleged to have raped a child at a Dros restaurant last year is mentally ill.

At a November court hearing, his Legal Aid attorney, Riaan du Plessis, told the Pretoria Magistrate's Court that there was a history of mental illness in the accused’s family‚ that the accused had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder in January 2013, and that he had undergone treatment for substance abuse as a teenager.

Du Plessis said a psychiatrist had advised him that the accused had harmed himself.

"My instructions are that they were indeed suicide attempts from the accused because of severe depression," he said.

The court had ordered that the suspect, who is accused of having raped a young girl in the bathroom of a Dros restaurant, be mentally evaluated for 30 days. With the 30 days coming to an end, the suspect is expected back in court on Friday.

He cannot be named until he has pleaded.

Ahead of his evaluation, non-profit organisation Women and Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA) had stated that three psychiatrists and one psychologist would be assigned to the man.

He has been in custody since September last year when the incident allegedly happened.