PINETOWN Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, 25 September, saw a man in his 60s facing multiple charges relating to the rape of young boys.
The man, who has been identified as Sipho Mfene, appeared in the court while his accusers, too young to appear in court themselves, testified from another room.
The proceedings, attended by only Mfene and court officials, were held via video link.
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According to the court documents, the alleged sexual assaults began as far back as 2015.
His victim was only seven years old at the time.
The child was allegedly raped again the following year as well as at the age of nine.
The same victim was allegedly also forced by Mfene to perform sex acts with other boys leading to an additional six charges of compelled rape on top of the 11 charges of rape.
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All the children he is charged with raping are from the community of St Wendolins, near Pinetown, where Mfene lived at the time.
He was reportedly known to his victims as “Mkhulu”, an isiZulu name for Grandfather.
After the rapes, the elderly man reportedly vanished from the area, only to return in May 2017, when he was arrested.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and was remanded in custody until his next appearance.
Grooming
Thora Mansfield of the Open Door Crisis and Care Centre in Pinetown, which specifically offers support to people who suffer sexual and other assaults, said on Friday that the case is worth taking note of in that it again shows that many times sexual assault doesn’t take place at the hands of strangers.
Citing a talk she recently delivered on the grooming of victims by sexual offenders Mansfield, a leading authority on the effects of these types of crimes, said often a child’s parent remains unaware of the abuse.
“When grooming a child, the offender has the opportunity of shaping the child’s sexual preferences and with sufficient grooming, the child may not find the stimulation unpleasant and might even enjoy the sexual activity,” she warned. “Many grow up believing it is a normal experience.”
“Often the child is not aware that it constitutes child abuse, especially when the child has a strong relationship with the offender,” she said.
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