Cape Town - An alcohol-addicted mom is accused of watching her 13-year-old daughter have sex with men she sold her to for just R20.
The shocking claims emerged as the “sex slave” mom finally appeared in court on Monday.
State prosecutor Cecil Engel sent shock waves through the court when he revealed: “She [the child] was sold sometimes for R50, sometimes R100. Sometimes R20.”
Engel also told how the mother watched her child have sex with her “clients” near their home on waste ground and outside shebeens in an informal settlement outside Atlantis.
He added: “After she sold her, the people would take her to a car or to the bush and have sexual intercourse with her.
“On some occasions, the mother was present and waited outside the car.”
The woman appeared disorientated as she was escorted into the dock.
She slurred her words in English and Afrikaans as she tried to answer questions put to her.
As soon as she was in the witness box, Judge Zwelidumile Sogwagwa told her she was being charged with rape.
She immediately tried to defend herself, saying: “My child does not listen to me, but my child did go.”
But before she could finish her sentence, prosecutor Engel jumped in and said she had sexually exploited her little girl.
“There is a charge of rape and there may be more charges of sexual grooming,” he said.
“The allegations are that the accused, over a period of time, sold her daughter to male persons for sex.”
A shocked Sogwagwa asked in disbelief: “She sold her child for money?”
Engel replied: “She sold her for money for alcohol.”
The court heard the alarm was raised two weeks ago when the child – who is now being cared for at a safe house in Atlantis – told a teacher of the abuse.
Judge Sogwagwa called for the mom to be mentally assessed. But Engel argued the mother was simply a drunkard: “The accused suffers from no mental illness – she has a history of alcohol abuse.”
The matter was postponed until Thursday to allow the accused to be assessed by a district surgeon.
The shocking case sparked a nationwide furore after the Daily Voice first broke the story last week.
DA ward Councillor and shelter owner Barbara Rass – who is currently caring for the little victim – says the mother must face the full force of the law.
Daily Voice