Fairland rape survivor narrates the tale of horror

A 63-year-old Fairland woman was recently raped in her home.

“As I opened my eyes, he said shhh, shhh, shhh, and all I could say was ‘Please don’t hurt me, take whatever you want, but don’t hurt me’,” Marty du Plessis said in a terrified voice.

The perpetrator then asked for all valuables.

“I knew I had to take him out of the house as soon as possible… I gave him all my valuables even the jewellery my late father bequeathed me,” she said.

He [the perpetrator] spoke in a soft voice holding a gun with a silencer. Du Plessis felt panic streaming down her body, horrified by what the assailant could do, despite the soft voice.

“My back was against the bed…he came and stood close to me and said ‘Now you have to do something for me.’ I said, ‘Please don’t do this. I [am old enough to]be your mother,” she said.

“At that time I knew what was going to happen and I thought I should just make this man [ejaculate] as quickly as possible because then he would leave me.”

Du Plessis said that she wanted to make it as painless for herself as possible.

“I had to make him ejaculate. It was so degrading. He then pushed me and flipped me around and I knew he would tear me into pieces.”

Du Plessis then recounted forcibly turning herself around to avoid being raped from the back. He raped her “fast and hard” inflicting a lot of damage to her body.

“He tried to inflict as much pain as possible….he scratched my insides [vagina]…when he was done, he told me to sleep,” she said.

Fearful of being shot, du Plessis begged for her life as the perpetrator held a pillow attempting to put it on her face.

“He screamed in the same soft voice, ‘sleep, sleep’ he said… moments later I heard rattling sounds outside [as he made his escape].

“I live in fear, I can’t shower, I can’t watch TV, I can’t go to the shops. I am so scared,” said du Plessis crying hysterically.

“Why did this have to happen to me? Now I have to watch TV through a locked gate,” she added.

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Help arrives

The police arrived at the scene in less than 10 minutes. After taking a statement and checking the scene, Fairland police took Du Plessis to Ikhaya Lethemba rape support unit.

The doctor arrived in the morning and informed du Plessis that she had been cut with nails and her vagina was swollen.

Du Plessis then had to be tested for Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV). Although she was found negative, she had to go on a three- month treatment to avoid chances of infection, if any.

“I can never forgive this man because he hurt me,” she said angrily.

The police were able to take a full DNA sample because the assailant did not wear a condom.

Du Plessis is disappointed that the police have closed the case due to insufficient evidence to catch the perpetrator.

“If my case is closed, it means no one is actively working on it and this person will never be caught. No one will remember me or what happened to me. I will never get closure,” she said.

Fairland station commander Colonel Mkhacani Maluleke refuted Du Plessis’ claim that her case had been closed.

In other words, if the perpetrator commits another crime and his DNA is found, his profile will be connected to Marty du Plessis’ rape and he will be identified.

Calls for a safer community

Marty du Plessis has since called for a safer community.

“Something has to be done about the mountain behind my yard because that is where a lot of vagrants stay,” she said.

“If the city could deal with this problem all these crimes could have been prevented.”

Ward 89 councillor Ingrid Reinten said she has been trying to convince the city to cut the grass on the mountain and keep it clean, so that police and security vehicles can patrol the area and remove all vagrants that have turned the mountain into their home.

“I wish that the city had listened to me years ago when I explained what had to be done to keep this place safe,” Reinten added.

She also commented that the city ought to understand that councillors work on behalf of the community.

“We have had a massive crime spike in this area mainly because the city can’t maintain its area.They allow people to move through the mountainside,” she said.

Reinten called on the City of Joburg to acknowledge that they own the area around the mountain and to fence it off for a safer Fairland.

She urged residents to get involved with the residents association and pass all information and problems to the councillor.