Pretoria - On Tuesday the daughter of the man dubbed the “Springs Monster” will testify in camera about her alleged rape by her father, while her mother did nothing to protect her.
The man is accused of raping his 16-year-old daughter and severely abusing and neglecting her and her four siblings, who ranged in age from 2 years to 11 in 2014.
The man and his wife are standing trial in the high court in Pretoria facing multiple counts of child abuse and neglect pertaining to each of their five children, as well as attempted murder of their son, now 13. There are also charges of manufacturing and possession of drugs, as well as exposing the children, all minors, to pornography.
The State’s indictment contains shocking allegations, including that the children were tied up and bound with handcuffs and ropes; that they were burnt and shocked; that they were shot at with projectiles from a gas pistol; that their teeth were completely rotten; that the smaller children were malnourished; and, that they did not attend school.
The mother of the five children said she was unable to come to their aid when her husband abused and ill-treated them, as she, too, was a victim.
The woman - said to be illiterate - alleged that her husband was the one who took all the decisions regarding their children. She said she was also forced to take substances - which he told her were CAT and crystal meth - on occasions, when he told her it would make her relaxed and enable her to “have better sex”.
These statements by the mother - who cannot be identified to protect the identity of her children - formed part of her plea explanation before the court.
She is facing 20 charges and her husband 22.
On Monday the woman pleaded not guilty to all the charges, while the man pleaded guilty to only one charge, pertaining to him lying to a policeman regarding the whereabouts of his son (then 11). He had assaulted the child so badly that he had two black eyes.
When police went to the house in May 2014 looking for the child, the father lied and said he had no idea where the child was. He said he was under the influence of drugs when he assaulted the boy. It is this child who led to the dramatic arrest of the couple in 2014. He had fled to neighbours on the night of May 19, 2014, but his father fetched him by force and took him back home.
According to the State he assaulted the child by hitting him in the face with his fists, while the mother did nothing.
The neighbours reported the incident to the police and when they arrived at the house, they found the mother and the other four children.
The man said the boy was missing and he and his wife had even filed a missing person’s report.
All this happened while the child was with the man’s family in Warden. When the SAPS swooped on the house in Springs in May 2014, they found a filthy, rat-infested home, the State said.
According to the SAPS, the children were underfed and neglected.
Pornographic material, handcuffs, gas pistols and fireworks with nails attached to them were among items found in the house. It emerged that the children were allegedly subjected to being burnt, shocked, pepper-sprayed and cuffed or tied-up over a number of years.
They apparently did not go to school.
The man explained that he was taken out of school when he was in (then) Standard 6 and he did not know it was illegal not to send his children to school.
He is also accused of raping his 16-year-old daughter several times. He denied this, but admitted he “once touched her private parts”, but said his wife told him his brother was the child’s father. But on Monday the man admitted all five were his biological children.
It is also claimed that the father forced his eldest daughter to take drugs and to assist in packing and distributing them. The mother blamed everything on her husband. “I could not stop him” I was also his victim. I was terrified of him,” she said in her plea explanation.
Two of the children are expected to testify against their parents on Tuesday.
Judge Eben Jordaan gave permission that the now 13-year-old boy and his (now) 18-year-old sister may testify via closed circuit television.
Their evidence will be heard behind closed doors. Prosecutor Jennifer Cronje said they were terrified of their parents and couldn’t face them.
The mother, who earlier appeared unkempt, sported a new, modern hairstyle and neat clothing on Monday. She sat far from her husband in the dock.
Pretoria News