Free State - An observant Free State woman has helped a 10-year-old girl report her rape and identify the man who raped her, police said on Thursday.
Sergeant Martin Xuma said a woman saw the girl walking with difficulty to school on Monday. The woman approached the girl, but she would not talk.
Xuma said the woman took the girl to a clinic where it was established that she had been sexually abused.
The police were called and it was found that the girl was an orphan who stayed with family in Manyatseng, in Ladybrand. She managed to tell her story only when her teacher arrived.
She said she was raped on Saturday night, while she was sleeping. She had been sharing a bed with two boys and a 20 year-old cousin. Her cousin allegedly raped the girl while the younger boys were asleep.
Police opened a rape case and arrested the 20-year-old man, who appeared in the Ladybrand Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.
The case was postponed to August 23 for a formal bail application. - Sapa