PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - The alleged rape of a nine-year-old girl at the hands of an elderly Plettenberg Bay resident has sent shockwaves through the community.
The 83-year-old man from the Crags appeared briefly in the Plettenberg Bay Magistrate’s Court on Monday, January 11 following his arrest just before Christmas. At his first court appearance on December 22, the man had indicated his intention to apply for bail.
On Monday however the elderly suspect informed the court he would no longer be applying for bail as he did not have the funds to do so. The matter was postponed until February 17 for further investigation.
Police spokesperson Captain Malcolm Pojie said the accused had been renting a flat on the property of the child’s grandparents at the time of the incident.
“It is believed the man called the girl to his home while she was visiting her grandparents and asked her to write a letter on his behalf. He allegedly said he wanted to borrow something from her grandparents,” Pojie stated.
Once in his flat the man allegedly raped the girl. She however reported the matter to her family who in turn contacted the authorities and took the girl to the nearest hospital for sexual assault examination.
“We, along with the greater Plettenberg Bay community, are horrified that these sex crimes are continuing in our community. One cannot open the newspaper these days without reading another article about yet another gruesome sexual offence,” Women and Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA) spokesperson Joanne Barrett said.
She added that it appeared, judging by the frequency these matters were making headlines, that these perpetrators did not have “a fear or care in the world” when committing these “horrendous crimes”.
“It is time authorities wake up and take action, tighten the law with regards to sexual offences.”
She added that the vast majority of suspects in these cases were also released on bail, which she saw as “a joke”.
“Our courts should feel ashamed and be held accountable should further crimes be committed.”
Spokesperson for local anti-child abuse group Green Hearts, Yvette Wilschut, also expressed her shock.
“We are shocked to once again learn that another young local child had suffered at the hands of an alleged sex predator. It is not only horrific, but sad. Here you have a girl who tried to help an elderly person, who was being obedient, being attacked like this,” Wilschut said.
Since the beginning of last year the town has been hit by a series of horrific incidents including the arrest of a computer engineer accused of having links to a horrific international child pornography network and a local teacher accused of raping a 15-year-old boy and sexually assaulting a 10-year-old.
“We are desperately trying to get prevention programmes in place, but instead we're constantly finding ourselves having to react to these horrors,” Wilschut said.
She explained that the group not only provided support to the victims and their families, but also attended court appearances of the suspects in an effort to highlight the victims' plight.
“Not a week goes by that we are not in court, dealing with one of these cases and the latest one has left us shocked. It is so sad, this little girl was [allegedly] doing something good for an elderly person, being obedient.”
She added that the latest incident again highlighted the need for a dedicated family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit (FCS ) for Plettenberg Bay and surrounds. Currently crimes against children in Bitou are dealt with by only 17 FCS investigators based in George, who are responsible for a vast area stretching from George to Nature's Valley.
She said so far they had just shy of 6 000 signatures for the petition demanding such a unit for Plett.
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ARTICLE: YOLANDE STANDER, KNYSNA-PLETT HERALD CORRESPONDENT
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