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8-year-old boy raped in bushes
A search for soccer magazine posters in the dense bushes at a dumping site in Sarafina ended in terror for an 8-year-old boy. He and his friend of the same age had walked about 1 kilometre through the bushes when a knife-wielding man charged towards them from out of nowhere and threatened to kill them if they ran away.
A search for soccer magazine posters in the dense bushes at a dumping site in Sarafina ended in terror for an 8–year-old boy.
He and his friend of the same age had walked about 1 kilometre through the bushes when a knife-wielding man charged towards them from out of nowhere and threatened to kill them if they ran away.
“I could see in his eyes that he meant what he said, but we were terrified and we ran away anyway,” says the friend. “Unfortunately, he grabbed my friend and dragged him to a secluded spot.”
According to the Ikageng SAPS spokesperson, Cons. Kelebogile Trom, the incident happened at about 11:45. After grabbing the boy, the unknown suspect undressed and raped him. The child screamed for help throughout his ordeal but no one came to assist him. After raping him, the suspect just walked away, she said.
The victim’s 30-year-old mother says her son’s friend was traumatised and did not speak about what had happened in the bushes.
“His mom thought he had been in a fight at school when he came home. He could barely speak and walked away while his mom was questioning him.
“He decided to go back and get my son, who was crying when he entered the house. I thought he had also been involved in a fight so I demanded to know what had happened.”
The boy told how he had been held against his will and gave a detailed account of what the man did to him. After reporting the incident, the police took the mother and son to the hospital.
The mother said she is heartbroken about what her boy went through.
“I cry myself to sleep. How could a human being do this? I have always warned the children not to go too far because this is what can happen,” she says. She would like the identity of the suspect to be revealed to protect other children.
“I am supporting my son through this ordeal and I keep telling him everything will be all right. He must not think about it too much. I fear for my children’s safety. I don’t want him to play in the street anymore or go far from our home.”
According to her, her son seems to be trying to forget and is playing in the yard with other kids like he used to. On Saturday just before sleeping, he said, “Mama, I’ve forgotten about that man.”
Photo: Selogile Leshage
The police spokesperson urges parents to know the whereabouts of their children when they are playing and not allow them to play far from home. She also cautioned children to avoid playing in the bushes and the dumping site because it’s dangerous.
“Parents should educate their children about sexual offences and encourage them to tell someone when they have been hurt or something bad has happened,” she said.
Trom says the African male suspect is still at large and police are still looking for him. He was wearing a blue cap, a blue shirt, an orange pair of trousers and blue sneakers.
