According to NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, the minor and her mother attended church on Sunday, January 5, 2019. “During the service, a pastor of the church prophesied that the child had been sexually assaulted by a 33-year-old male when she was nine years old.
“After church on their way home, the child confessed to the mother that indeed the stepfather had been sexually assaulting her over a period of a year when the mother had gone to work at night and she was left in his care,” she said.
When the mother confronted the 36-year-old about the allegations made by the child, Mahanjana said he strongly denied it. “The following morning both the mother and the [stepfather] took the child to a doctor at Laudium Hospital where the child was examined and it was discovered that indeed she had been sexually assaulted.
“After the child spoke to social workers, police were called and the 36-year-old was arrested. He has been in custody since the NPA successfully opposed bail,” she said.
In court, the man pleaded not guilty to the charge leveled against him. Rape, according to Prosecutor Tumi Phongola, is a scourge in society that is degrading and humiliating, especially for vulnerable children.