After conferencing with the legal adviser of the family whose three daughters were locked up in a cage-like room at Roodepoort Police Station on 11 July, it has been established that the younger girl (now aged seven) was raped when she was three.
The case made the news in 2014 when Mathys van Zyl was found guilty of molesting and raping the three-year-old while her twin sisters, seven at the time, witnessed the incident. The whole case revolved around the twins’ testimony and Van Zyl, who was found guilty of raping an 11-year-old prior to the incident, was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment.
Also Read: #CagedGirls: Police shoot back but it doesn’t add up
According to the Record’s sister publication, the Krugersdorp News, which reported on the case, the molestation happened on more than one occasion and in one incident the girl bled for a week afterwards.
Read Krugersdorp News’s article here: Kinderverkragter skuldig bevind
The family’s legal adviser, as well as the mother of the now seven-year-old, said they are back to square one as all three girls are traumatised all over again. One of the first things one of the girls allegedly asked when they realised they were going to be locked up, was, “Are we now going to be with Thys ?” (referring to Van Zyl) .
The mother and legal adviser also allege that the detective in question told the hysterical girl in the cage “Hey wena, shut the f**k up and stop p*****g”. His name is known to the Record.
Meanwhile, Colonel Lungelo Dlamini, spokesperson for the Police’s provincial structure, has done an about-turn. After the Record replied to his email, in which he insinuated that the journalist did not get comment from the Roodepoort Police, he has replied saying “Your prompt response is appreciated. This matter will now be investigated. Capt Khumalo did not discuss the request with her station commander and the Provincial Office”.
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