A 17-year old mother and her 30-year old boyfriend are expected to appear on Wednesday, 25 November 2020 in the Protea Magistrate Court, following an incident on 15 November 2020 in which her two-year old daughter was allegedly raped and assaulted in Diepkloof, Soweto. The child succumbed to injuries and was certified dead on 19 November 2020.
This comes after their arrest by police on Tuesday 24 November 2020, in Diepkloof.
It was only on the Tuesday, 17 November 2020 that the 17-year old mother of the victim came to report the incident to the police. Nevertheless, this assisted police in obtaining vital information towards building a solid case in order to secure arrests.
During the preliminary investigation, police were able to establish that on Sunday 15 November 2020, the mother of the deceased toddler had left her two-year old daughter in the care of her boyfriend for about two hours. On her return around 20h30, she allegedly found the boyfriend not around but instead, the boyfriend’s father was home, and the child was asleep. She went to sleep not wanting to disturb the child.
According to the complainant, she woke up in the middle of the night to check on the child only to find the child with serious injuries to her face. She took the child to nearby Baragwanath Hospital for medical attention. The outcome of the medical examination found that the child had been penetrated and that is when the doctor called the police.
Sadly, the child succumbed to injuries and was certified dead on Thursday 19 November 2020; and the initial case of assault with intention to cause grievous bodily harm was subsequently changed to murder.
Investigations continue pending the outcome of the forensic analysis as police seek to build a watertight case that can stand in court and see justice served.
Police have reason to believe that the deceased child may have suffered previous abuse at the hands of her step-father and this went unreported. This, is the basis of the arrest of the teenage mother who in this instance, only reported the incident to the police two days later.
