Case against one of three teen boys accused of Midrand gang rape withdrawn

One of three teenage boys arrested for allegedly gang-raping a 15-year-old girl in Midrand was released from custody after appearing in the Randburg magistrate's court children's section on Thursday. 

The other two were remanded and are expected to appear again on December 28.  

The court proceedings were held in camera with only the suspects and their parents permitted inside.  

Gauteng education department spokesperson Steve Mabona declined to comment because minors were involved.

“They only give us feedback that the case will come back on the 28th of this month. The lawyers will then be probably fighting for the release of the suspects. We don't know, we will hear from them,” he said. 

Mabona said the department would provide psychosocial support to the victim and the alleged perpetrators' families.

According to police, it is reported the victim was attending a party in Midrand when she was raped. 

“The matter was reported to the police on Monday. The family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit attended to the victim. The police visited known addresses in efforts to trace the perpetrators to no avail,” said police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo. 

Police arrested one of the suspects at his residence in Johannesburg on Wednesday, while the other two handed themselves over to the police at Midrand police station. 

The 19-year-old sister of the victim spoke to media on the sidelines of the court proceedings. She is believed to be one of the first people the victim informed of the rape. 

She said she had found her sister crying in her bedroom the morning after she had hosted a braai at an estate in Midrand.

“I went to [my sister]'s room and [asked], 'Why are you crying?' She didn't want to tell me at first. I asked again and she said someone hurt her. I was like, 'Who hurt you? What did they do?' — and then she mentioned the boys raped her.”

TimesLIVE