Family wants rape accused assessed

The Bronkhorstspruit man accused of sexually assaulting a domestic worker and forcing her to perform oral sex on his dogs may have been attempting to dodge prosecution by trying to declare himself mentally unfit.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is opposing an application by the accused’s family, who applied for the Bronkhorstspruit Magistrate’s Court to send their son to Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital for psychiatric evaluation to influence the criminal case, prosecutor Tiisetso Leballo said.

Leballo said the application was opposed as “fake mental instability” and was a strategy used by suspects to avoid prosecution.

“This application could see him sent to the Pretoria hospital for 30 days of observation. We are well aware that suspects often go to Weskoppies and then act as if they are not mentally stable to avoid facing consequences of their actions,” he said.

The accused, 41, who cannot be named due to the nature of the crime, allegedly first held his family’s domestic worker against her will in a room on October 23.

He allegedly damaged her phone and then forced her to perform sexual acts on him before raping her.

The man then apparently forced the woman to perform oral sex on his two dogs.

The accused, from Riamar Park in Bronkhorstspruit, was arrested and faced 10 counts, including rape, sexual assault, kidnapping and malicious damage to property.

The accused’s parents, however, testified last year that their son had always been mentally unstable.

“One moment he would be fine, the next, he would be angry, swearing, shouting, fighting and breaking things,” his father said.

But investigating officer Moses Mabena, who took down the accused’s statement, told the court yesterday the accused did not appear to be mentally unfit.

He said the accused was able to provide personal details and a statement, like any normal person.

“In my 18 years as a police officer, I can say that I did not experience any problems with the accused, except taking his finger prints.

“His fingers are deformed. There was also no communication breakdown,” Mabena testified.

But the accused’s defence team argued that their client could have suffered from “elicit interval”, where an insane person goes through a period of sanity.

The accused had already been taken to a psychiatric doctor for assessments.

The matter was postponed to February 15 when the doctor who assessed the accused will give his testimony.