Pretoria - The Springs couple who are accused of neglecting and abusing their five children over a number of years, on Monday pleaded not guilty to more than 21 charges.
The 36-year-old man, who also faced a charge of repeatedly raping his then 16-year-old daughter, denied the rape, but admitted that he touched her private parts.
He said in an explanation of plea before the High Court in Pretoria that he thought she was not his daughter. According to him his wife told him his brother was her father.
He, however, in a list of admissions handed to court, admitted he was the biological father of all five children – including his eldest daughter.
Regarding the charges that he did not send his children to school, the father said he did not realise that he had to send them to school. He said he left school before he completed the then standard six.
The mother, who is now estranged from her husband, said she was powerless to assist her children as she too was abused by her husband. According to her, his word was the only one which ever counted.
Judge Eben Jordaan was told by Advocate Harry Prinsloo that the mother cannot read or write.
Two of the children – a boy now aged 13 and his (now) 18-year-old sister will on Tuesday take the stand to testify against their parents. Both children will testify via closed circuit television and the proceedings will be conducted in camera.
Prosecutor Jennifer Cronje told the court that the children are terrified of their parents and they simply cannot face them in court.
The bulk of the charges relate to abuse of the couple’s children, aged two, three, four, 11 and 16 in 2014, when the couple were arrested.
The children were allegedly held in captivity at the couple’s Springs home for several years and the older children were not allowed to attend school. The children are at present in foster care.
The man was arrested after his 11-year-old son raised alarm. He was allegedly severely assaulted by his father. The mother was arrested about a month later, when it was discovered that the other children were also abused and neglected.
Pretoria News