By Graeme Hosken
Crime Reporter
Allegedly raped in a police station toilet, turned away from laying a charge at another police station and then refused help by a district surgeon - a Pretoria mother is now asking whether she will ever see justice.
After police dragged their heels for nearly a month, the 29-year-old mother and her attorney, in desperation, turned to the police watchdog, the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD).
While suspects have been arrested, the woman and her attorney, who commended the watchdog for the arrests, claim they are bungling the identification parade - a vital part of the investigation - by causing unnecessary delays.
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'I knew I was going to be hurt'
The Rustenburg policeman, along with three of his colleagues, were arrested on Friday, three weeks after the ICD's investigation began. They were arrested after they apparently refused to appear in an identification parade
The receptionist's nightmare began on September 29 when she was arrested on charges of stealing her former fiance's fishing rods.
The charges were withdrawn the following morning, in what the woman believes was an attempt by her ex-fiance to prevent her from attending a custody hearing for their 18-month-old son.
Clutching her mother's hand tightly, the petite Hercules woman, who recently received death threats, yesterday described how a policeman beat her, forced her to remove her pants and panties before he raped her, while his colleagues allegedly sat in a nearby office ignoring her screams for help.
Breaking down in tears, the woman, supported by her mother and attorney, Delia de Vries, described her ordeal.
'When the policeman came in behind me I knew I was going to be raped'
It started when two female cellmates were transferred to another police station.
"I knew I was going to be hurt. When I saw them go I knew that it was just a matter of time before they did something to me," she said, recalling how a policeman had earlier ordered her to use a neighbouring male detainee's cellphone to phone her family to tell them to bring R200 hidden in a packet of soup if she did not want to be attacked.
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