Girl, 10, testifies against alleged attacker

A 10-year-old girl stood up to the 36-year-old man she accused of rape by testifying against him in the Gqeberha high court yesterday.

Graphic details of how the Zwide man allegedly raped the daughter of his former girlfriend emerged shortly after he pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The girl was just eight at the time.

The man, who cannot be named in terms of a court order, opted not to give a plea explanation.

The alleged incident took place on October 26 2020.

Yesterday, the girl said she knew the accused as a very close friend of her mother’s, who would regularly visit their Joe Slovo West home.

According to the girl, on the day of the rape, she had been sleeping in a room with her younger brother.

Her mother was sleeping in another room with three other children.

At some stage during the night, the girl said she woke up to someone knocking on the front door, saying they needed somewhere to sleep.

The girl said her brother opened the door for the man and he went to speak to her mother while she and her older sister went back to bed.

She said she heard the man tell her mother that he had found a job and needed somewhere to sleep for the night.

The mother told him to sleep on the sofa in the living room.

The girl said that later during the night, the man got into bed next to her.

Her older sister was asleep in the same bed.

She said that was when the man raped her.

“I felt pain in [my private parts] and in my stomach.

“I was crying and [my sister woke up],” the girl said.

The sisters then reported the alleged incident to their mother.

According to the state, the accused had arrived at the house at about 3am and refused to leave the house, insisting the girl’s mother allow him to sleep on the sofa.

During the early hours of the morning, the man went to the room where the girl and her sister were sleeping and allegedly raped the child.

In papers before court, it is alleged that after the mother was informed about what had happened, she found the half-naked man on the bed.

She allegedly assaulted him before he fled.

He was arrested on December 11 2020, after the girl pointed him out to the police.

The trial continues.