Parents in court for selling teenage daughter to be raped

THE four women and one man stood solemn-faced in the dock of a packed Court 16 in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court, accused of selling a 13-year-old girl for sex – for as little as R20 a time.

One is the girl’s mother and the male accused is her stepfather, who cannot be identified in order to protect her identity.

According to the charge sheet, the State alleges that the mother sexually groomed her daughter over a period of time before pimping the child to the stepfather, and was present during most of the incidents.

The young girl was taken by various people to a park or bushes to be raped, at a cost of between R20 and R1 000 a time, money that was used to buy alcohol.

It is further alleged that the other three women, Maranatha Lotriet of Frankdale informal settlement, and Evelina Fortuin and Denise Muller, both of Philadelphia, also pimped the girl – to a doctor.

The child reported the incident to her teacher, and the police later arrested the girl’s mother. The others were arrested later. All five are charged with rape, sexual exploitation and human trafficking.

After she was arrested, the mother was sent to Victoria Hospital for psychiatric evaluation, but was found not to have psychotic tendencies.

It also emerged during previous court appearances in December and January that police were looking for three more suspects in Mossel Bay.

In court yesterday, it emerged that the case is to be transferred to the Cape Town Regional Court for trial – not the Western Cape High Court.

The five are to appear in court again on July 26, when a Regional Court date will be confirmed.