Picture: iStock
Two boys, age 14, are going to appear in court on Monday for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl in the Free State.
Social media users have been sharing video footage showing two boys allegedly violating a 12-year-old schoolgirl on the grounds of a Kgotsong, Bothaville, school.
According to Free State Police spokesperson Captain Stephen Thakeng, under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Bizzah Ntsiane, members of the Welkom Family Violence, Child Protection, and Sexual Offences Unit investigated the incident further.
“The mother registered a case of rape on behalf of her daughter. The two boys were arrested for rape and charged. They were released into the care of their parents,” Thakeng said.
ALSO READ: Indian girl dies after allegedly being raped, set on fire
The police said the boys are going to appear on Monday, November 20, in Bothaville Magistrate Court.
Meanwhile, in the North West, two sentences were recently handed down for two separate gender-based violence (GBV)-related cases.
In the first case, reported in March 2010, a social worker notified the police about concerns about the wellbeing of three children who were in the care of their parents and relocated to Zeerust.
“The children were taken for forensic assessments, and it was determined that they were raped over a period between Wednesday, July 1 2009, and Thursday, October 1 2009. The three children — a seven-year-old boy, an eight-year-old girl, and a 13-year-old disabled girl — are all siblings and were raped by their then 41-year-old father,” said Free State police spokesperson Colonel Adéle Myburgh.
ALSO READ: 12-year-old girl to get life-changing surgery after being raped by several men
On Wednesday, the father, now 61, was sentenced to 75 years imprisonment by the Rustenburg Regional Court after being found guilty on six charges of rape.
His personal information was ordered by the court to be entered into the National Register for Sexual Offenders, and he was declared unfit to possess a firearm.
In the second case, reported on 19 July 2017 in Sondela, close to Boitekong, a nine-year-old girl told her aunt that, while under the influence of alcohol, her stepfather had sexually assaulted her.
“Evidence heard in court indicated that the stepfather would wait until his wife went to work. The aunt immediately reported the matter to the police in Boitekong. A medical examination confirmed that the victim was raped, and the suspect was traced and arrested,” Myburgh said.
ALSO READ: Girl, 4, raped at Soweto daycare centre
On Tuesday, the stepfather, aged 44, was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment by the Rustenburg Regional Court.
He was also entered into the National Register of Sexual Offenders and declared unfit to possess a firearm.
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.