Cops mock abused kids’ parents
Abused pupils’ parents say they were ridiculed
●“They said we thought we were special and made us wait for hours at police station”
●Families speak out against ill-treatment
Parents of the two Soweto girls who were allegedly sexually molested by a policeman are complaining of being ridiculed and mistreated by officers.
They said they had to wait for hours at Orlando East police station on Tuesday before a case was opened against the police officer.
“We went to the police station to open a case but some police officers said we thought we were special and made us wait for four hours,” said one of the parents.
This was after the officer tasked with investigating allegations of sexual abuse of 87 girls at AB Xuma Primary School allegedly also sexually molested two of the victims, aged seven and eight.
According to one parent, the officer also threatened the girls into silence. “The police officer threatened the kids not to talk about the incident, saying he ‘will do anything’ to them.”
Investigations were first done in a group but on Monday, the officer started conducting one-on-one sessions with the two. “Our kids thought it was part of investigation for the officer to fondle their private parts,” she added.
Another parent said she did not understand why a male officer was tasked to deal with sexually abused children.
“The class [where the sessions were conducted] is in a secluded area ... I don’t understand why there was no female officer present,” she said.
According to a source who wanted to remain anonymous, the officer allegedly asked a teacher, who was sitting in on the interviews, to give him space to do his investigations.
“He called the first girl and told her to take off her clothes and lie on the table. He put his finger inside her private parts.
“When he was done he called the other one [and] also told her to undress and lie on the floor. He opened her thighs and looked into her private parts,” the source said.
Education spokesman Steve Mabona said social workers were sent to the school to work closely with parents of the two.
“They also have to make sure affected pupils are in a position to come back to school without any ridicule. That’s why the officer concerned was removed from the investigation for the safety of the victims.”
Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said it was normal that a male officer would consult with sexually abused girls because the officer in question was also a trained forensic social worker.
“There is nothing untoward with the assignment of a case to the investigator,” she said.
Peters advised the parents to register a complaint with the station commander if they feel aggrieved by the manner in which they were treated.
Mabona said they were investigating if more pupils were sexually abused as the officer had interviewed 12 of the 87 girls. The school was thrust into the spotlight in October when the 87 alleged that they were sexually assaulted by a scholar patroller. The patroller’s case is before court.
They made us wait for four hours to open the case
Whenever police release crime statistics, one area that ought to make headlines but seldom gets serious mention is the issue of child abuse.
Murder, rape and other contact crimes such as assault rightly capture the imagination of many people, but save for the odd campaign here and there and some politicians mouthing off about their dedication to the fight against abuse of women and children, the crime remains very much part of our existence yet it is not regarded as serious enough.
Just yesterday newspaper headlines and news on other platforms told of the ordeal of two Soweto primary school pupils at the hands of a police officer – someone who would in a normal society be delegated to give refuge for abused children.
AB Xuma Primary School in Soweto, made headlines last year when it emerged that yet another adult – a scholar patroller – had allegedly sexually molested 87 pupils. It was a shocking story that many hoped would culminate in justice being done rather than this unfortunate sequel.
Here is a man of the law asked to help bring justice to a group of children whom society had failed – inadvertently or otherwise – turning into a monster. Police officers are meant to be the first port of call when crime comes knocking on our doorsteps or happens behind closed doors in our homes, as abuse often does.
They are meant to serve and protect; and society would naturally raise its levels of expectation when it happens that those in need of such service and protection are children and women.
In numerous interviews since his return to policing – this time as minister – Bheki Cele has trumpeted the need to prioritise the fight against the abuse of children and women.
That pledge will continue to ring hollow if levels of service in the police service are not improved. It is fair to imagine that the case of the original sin committed against our children at AB Xuma primary has been compromised.
Why was a man – policeman or not – left to his devices with fragile children in a case we should all be expecting police to handle with utmost care? Why was a social worker not assigned to the case?
It is not enough to let the alleged perpetrator to be the only culprit made to answer for this violation of the most vulnerable in our midst.