“When he was granted bail our children cried and said, ‘Mommy, why did you lie to us? You promised he was going to jail’,” said one of the moms, with tears in her eyes.
They spoke to Lowvelder at the court appearance of the 62-year-old accused last Friday. He is facing charges on two counts of sexual assault and one count of possession of an illegal firearm.
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During the appearance the magistrate ruled that the man must move out of the complex that he is currently living in by his next appearance on April 12.
The victims also still reside in this complex. The mothers told the newspaper that they felt they needed to lock their children in their homes.
“He uses the same parking and entrance and exit as us and we do not want to let our children near the swimming pool.”
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One mom said they had to hire a 24-hour nanny to ensure the safety of their child, while the other said she had noticed severe behavioural changes.
The mothers both said they were not happy with the manner in which Nelspruit Police Station handled the case.
They complained that the police were insensitive and that some members of the force did not have the necessary training and skills to handle a case.
Nelspruit SAPS spokesman, Capt Zandile Gqawa, said all the members of their family violence, child protection and sexual offences team are trained to deal with sexual violence cases.
“However, if the complainant is not happy with how the case was handled, she can approach the station commander and lay a formal complaint.”
“We should remember that they must be the main priority in this case,” the mothers concluded.
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