State ‘neglecting’ child rape victim

Two years after repeatedly being raped, the state has still not organised counselling for a now nine-year-old girl although her rapist was found guilty in March.

Her mother, Pretty Pimblett, said the grade 3 pupil was repeatedly raped by their neighbour, 50-year-old Peter Molale, when she was seven years old in 2015.

Molale, who lives less than 100m from his young victim in Mamelodi West, had been granted bail so the girl continued to see her attacker in the neighbourhood, Pimblett said.

“She has to walk past his house every day to go to school or to the shops. The state has still not organised counselling for us.

“We were once offered counselling by the investigating officer at Mamelodi Day Hospital, but the counsellor was a no-show.

“I am unemployed and cannot afford to take her myself,” said the mother at the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini couldn’t comment on the counselling issue, as he had yet to speak to the investigating officer.

Molale was due to be sentenced yesterday, but sentencing was postponed to May 23, as the social workers’ victim impact report was not ready.

Pimblett was unhappy about the postponement, saying the state had had enough time to finalise the report.

Meanwhile, a 36-year-old Nigerian briefly reappeared in court yesterday on charges of kidnapping and rape.

He allegedly abducted a 12-year-old girl last year, fed her drugs and groomed her into prostitution in his Sunnyside flat over three months.

He was arrested in December and bail was denied.

The case was postponed to September 13 for pre-trial.

ALSO READ: 

//

For more news your way, follow The Citizen on Facebook and Twitter.