“Highest form of betrayel”: Stepfather charged with rape
"This is the highest form of betrayal," was GRIP CEO, Sakina Mohamed's reaction to the shocking news last week that a local man was arrested for allegedly raping his 14-year-old stepdaughter.
MBOMBELA – “But it is not the first case we have had like this,” she added. “What does this say about our society?”
The 36-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, appeared in the Nelspruit District Court on Friday morning on charges of rape, sexual assault, sexual grooming and sharing pornographic material with a minor. The man is accused of raping the girl between 2017 and 2019.
Police spokesman Capt Zandile Gwaqa said the victim’s mother had recently noticed strange behaviour and self-inflicted cuts on the victim’s body. She made some enquiries and discovered that the child had been allegedly molested by the father since she was 12 years old.
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On Thursday, the Nelspruit Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit arrested the suspect in Van Riebeek Street.
Mohamed said what made the case different was because the stepfather was supposed to be a parent and parents were supposed to protect their children.
She added that judges played a big part helping to protect women and children.
“What happens to a victim when she grows up and she is 18 or 19 and she looks back and goes into court records and finds that he only got a suspended sentence?
“She will think the law and society did not protect her, then she could do it to her children and the cycle of violence never ends.”
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Mohamed said President Cyril Ramaphosa had signed a declaration to affirm government’s commitment to fight gender-based violence. “Government made a commitment. We now want to see women and children protected.”
The matter was postponed until April 15 for a bail application. The accused remains in custody.
