State gunning for social workers who ‘failed’ baby

THE State is set to go after the Gauteng social workers “who could have prevented” the gruesome death of baby Daniel.

Steve Rubin, the prosecutor who managed to secure the conviction and long-term sentences for Daniel’s abusive and killer guardians Maryke* and Timothy*, said in open court this week that the State’s legal team were building a criminal case against the social workers for alleged negligence in assisting the boy, who was systematically tortured.

Maryke, the boy’s mother, received an effective 20-year imprisonment sentence on two counts of deliberate child neglect.

Timothy, the stepfather, received a life term and an additional 10 years for the June 2016 killing and for child abuse.

Daniel died after being submerged in boiling-hot water, suffering 60% body burns, with a pathology report showing that he had 15 separate blunt-force injuries ranging from moderate to large force, many of which occurred 24 to 48 hours before he died.

The case against the social workers related to alleged systemic failures by those who visited Daniel’s home three months before his death. This after the boy had sustained a broken bone, which a health report stated displayed signs of non-accidental injuries.

An expert report by experienced social worker Wezet Botes also contended that there were “systemic failures” by provincial government workers.

According to Botes, who interviewed Daniel’s mother after her December conviction, she lied to the social workers about her son’s broken leg, perpetuating Timothy’s lie that the boy had fallen from a tree.

But Botes said the investigators should have probed more extensively into Daniel’s injuries. “The thoughtful review of the circumstances of the family, the nature of the injury, the presence of a prior medical report of a radial fracture (and) the young age of the child concerned should have prompted a larger, more thorough investigation.

“The removal of the children at the time of the injury to his leg would have been a responsible action and could have prevented (Daniel’s) death,” she added.

Maryke’s attorney, Mario Coetzee, confirmed on Wednesday that his client would assist the State in this case.

Miranda Jordan-Friedmann, director of Women and Men Against Child Abuse, said her organisation was fully behind the prosecution of the workers.

Gauteng Department of Social Development spokesperson Thebe Mohatle had not responded to emailed questions after acknowledging them at the time of publication.