DA to picket at Dros rape accused’s court appearance

The Democratic Alliance (DA) will picket outside the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court tomorrow when the man accused of raping a six-year-old girl at the Dros restaurant in Silverton, Pretoria is expected to appear.

The 20-year-old man allegedly raped the girl in the bathrooms at the family restaurant.

He is facing charges of rape and assault with the intention to cause grievous bodily harm as well as other charges.

In a statement, the party said the picket would be led by its Gauteng premier candidate Solly Msimanga, and DAWN regional chairperson, Mpho Mehlape.

“Crimes against women and children are a fundamental attack on our humanity and a blight on South Africa’s human rights protection record.”

The shocking details behind the rape were recently reported on.

The suspect  reportedly initially sat at Dros Watermeyer’s bar area when he was later joined by an older man. Together, they drank R700 worth of beer and shooters. It is also reported that the suspect and the rape victim’s mother were regular visitors of the establishment.

Eyewitnesses and three waiters say the alleged rapist went to the bathroom twice that afternoon. They allege that he took one route to go to the bathroom, but walked past the play area on his way back to the bar.

Half an hour after his first bathroom visit, he went again. Shortly after his second bathroom break, the victim’s mother realised that her child was no longer where she left her in the play area. When she asked the child minder in the play area, she said that her child had gone to the bathroom.

A waiter explained that the women’s bathroom has three cubicles, one of which was out of order. The frantic mother searched for her child in the two working cubicles, but could not find her.

Restaurant personnel then stepped in to help her find her child. One of the waitresses spotted feet under the cubicle that was out of order. When the waitress touched the door, she reportedly saw the child crying and calling out to her mother.

The mother and four waitresses tried to pry the door open. When the door began to open, the suspect allegedly used his belt to attack the ladies. He then fled past them towards the men’s bathroom and locked himself in a cubicle, which customers and personnel later broke open.

Once inside the cubicle, they were confronted with the beginning of what would be a horrific discovery. They report how the child’s underwear, shorts, and the suspect’s shirt were found inside the toilet. It is presumed that he tried to flush the evidence of the rape down the toilet. His shirt was allegedly soaked in the little girl’s blood.

In anger, the customers assaulted him until security guards intervened.

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