Abuse cases in court
Guardians in the dock for child violation
TWO young girls are being kept in places of safety while the adults entrusted to care for them appeared in court charged with heinous crimes against a child, in separate matters, on the same day this week.
A mother and her former boyfriend, both accused of attempted murder, made an appearance in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court.
The mother was seen on camera physically abusing her 4-yearold daughter. The boyfriend was alleged to have filmed the February incident and could be heard in the video spurring on the abuse.
But their case was not the main talking point this week.
On Thursday, soon after the couple’s matter, a 43-year-old man who has been accused of raping his 10-year-old stepdaughter made his first appearance at the Verulam Family Court.
He also cannot be named to protect the child’s identity. He faces two counts of rape, two counts of sexual grooming of a child, sexual assault, and exposing the child to pornography.
He could barely stand during his court appearance.
Bruised, battered, and wearing the same clothes he was arrested in, he hobbled into the dock and stared at the ground when cameras zoomed in on him.
Someone in the gallery muttered “monster”.
The man, a mechanic, is alleged to have kept the girl as a sex slave in a filthy shack at an informal settlement on the outskirts of Verulam since 2013, after her mother’s death.
His arrest came early this week after neighbours raised the alarm after learning about the trauma the child endured.
A cellphone, apparently containing pornographic images, sex toys, lingerie, and pornographic films found in the shack, have been seized by police.
The charge sheet states how the man used a vibrator on the child several times, and made her watch pornographic DVDS.
Throngs of protesters, fuming over what the man allegedly subjected the child to, banged on the court entrance door, demanding to be let in.
They carried placards with the words “kill the rapist” and “rot in jail”.
Some neighbours in the area where the alleged abuse took place admitted outside court to beating the accused before his arrest.
His legal aid attorney, Mustaqeen Ameer, said his client’s body was covered in scars and also claimed he had a fractured rib
Magistrate Irshad Khalil postponed the matter to June 25. He ordered a medical report be compiled for the accused to receive medical attention at the Westville Prison’s medical facilities.
The 4-year-old girl and the 10-year-old have been moved to places of safety, according to state prosecutor, Ishara Sewnarain, who is leading the prosecution in both cases.
The attempted murder accused were expected to return to the court in August.