Rape victim is being ‘failed by the system’

THE mother of a 12-yearold girl who is an alleged rape victim from eSikhaleni township doubts her daughter will ever find justice after the case was withdrawn due to ‘lack of evidence’.

This incident has been ongoing for over a year now and according to the child the perpetrator has raped her more than three times.

The victim's mother (32) said the case was struck off the roll even though a medical doctor confirmed that she was raped more than once.

The latest incident allegedly took place in May this year, at the home where the perpetrator usually visits his father.

The mother is convinced that the failure to prosecute and investigate further is because the father of the perpetrator is a well-known police officer and someone within the force is covering up for him.

She accused the investigating officer of unethical behaviour and ‘always making unwelcome remarks’ about her daughter's body and insinuating that the accused was being framed.

"One day I received a call from a male person who introduced himself as the brother of the perpetrator,'" she said.

In that recorded phone call, which the ZO has a copy of, the alleged brother can be heard asking the mother to ‘solve this thing in another way’, but she refused.

She further alleges that the investigating officer failed to make arrangements to gather statements, partially due to the fact that she is a student and her child goes to school, and she was surprised to receive a message on 16 September saying the case had been withdrawn.

“He should have categorically stated to me that my non-availability was making it hard for him to do his job and he would be forced to hand over the docket.

"Instead, he was pretending to be understanding, saying he would work with me to find justice for my daughter, while in actual fact he was working against me,” said the distraught mother.

Rape victim’s mother shocked to find out about the withdrawal of the case by SAPS