SEXUAL PERPETRATOR PROSECUTED AFTER PERSISTENT PRESSURE BY AFRIFORUM’S PRIVATE PROSECUTION UNIT

A suspect who is accused of two cases of sexual assault and one of rape, on Wednesday finally appeared in the local court in Reitz after persistent pressure by AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit.

A family member of a five year old girl contacted the Private Prosecution Unit in October 2019 after the girl was allegedly molested by the suspect. The family member was at wit’s end after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decided not to prosecute the suspect. AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit looked into the case and discovered that the SAPS never did a thorough investigation of the case.

In correspondence to the DPP, the Private Prosecution Unit pointed out that the statements of several witnesses in the case were never taken by the SAPS, upon which a decision was taken to reopen the case.

Although the suspect has still not been prosecuted for molesting the child, the investigation found that he can be linked to several other similar offences for which he has now been formally charged.

The case has been postponed until 15 June 2021. Due to the seriousness of the charges the case has been transferred to the regional court in Bethlehem.