Nelspruit - A former daycare owner accused of tying up children, assaulting them, and feeding them faeces was acquitted of all charges by the Nelspruit Magistrate's Court on Thursday.
Christine Bruins, 45, was found not guilty on two charges of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and one of child abuse, a Sapa correspondent reported.
Magistrate Andre Geldenhuys told the court the testimonies of two witnesses, Lettie Magagula and Janette Mthethwa, could not be accepted.
Geldenhuys said their testimony was inconsistent.
“Both can say they are illiterate, but there must be some standard when one is a witness. Their testimonies differed from day to day. This does not hold much value for the court,” Geldenhuys said.
Bruins was arrested in October 2010 after she was accused of hitting babies and rubbing their dummies in cat faeces before putting them in their mouths.
Magagula, who started working at the daycare in White River in 2007, testified that Bruins used ropes to tie the children up and let her own children beat the other children up.
She testified that she was afraid to report the abuse to the parents because one of the children's parents was a police officer.
Geldenhuys accused Magagula and Mthethwa of conspiring against Bruins. He said there was no reason to find Bruins guilty.
Sapa