Joburg woman raped inside taxi in front of 10-year-old son – report

A Johannesburg woman was reportedly raped in the back of a taxi in front of her 10-year-old son during a four-hour ordeal after boarding a taxi on Sunday morning.

Eyewitness News reports that the woman boarded the taxi on Ontdekkers Road and was held at gunpoint by three men who allegedly raped her and withdrew money from her bank account several times after they forced her to hand over her ATM card and PIN number.

The woman’s harrowing ordeal has exposed several other cases of woman in the province, who have also been raped after being picked up by men in minibus taxis.

The first two cases were reported to police in the Roodepoort area last year, and several more cases were opened in Soweto, according to EWN.

The woman described how her young son was told to lie face down on the floor of the taxi as she was raped on the backseat of the minibus. She said her thoughts during her torment were about how her son would be affected by the ordeal.

“Then I could not imagine the whole time that I was there was praying that they wouldn’t even touch him,” she said.

Gauteng police reportedly said they were examining CCTV footage from ATMs and following up leads as they investigate the rapes of the women. Police spokesperson Lungelo Dlamini said they were searching for the suspects after no arrests were made in all the cases reported.

The woman said she hoped by speaking out about the incident, she could encourage other victims to come forward and potentially help prevent more attacks.

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