Mother’s plea after teen rape

Published Jul 23, 2014

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Durban - A distraught mother has appealed for help in apprehending the man who raped and terrorised her 18-year-old daughter in their Cato Manor home as she was getting ready for school.

She has had to send her daughter, who is in Grade 11, to stay with a relative, because she feared for her safety.

Her daughter was allegedly locked in the house and raped by the 27-year-old suspect, who was known to her, she said on Tuesday.

Police on Tuesday issued an identikit of a man they believe can help them with their investigations.

The mother, who cannot be named to protect her daughter, said the teenager was traumatised after the rape ordeal on June 4, and she had struggled to cope with her Grade 11 mid-year exams.

“I have taken her to various social workers, and although she seemed to be recovering she didn’t want to stay in this area anymore. Sometimes she would have nightmares, screaming, fighting in her sleep,” she said.

“She says, ‘he (the suspect) says I must not tell anyone about what he did and if I do he will come back and kill me’,” said the mother.

The mother said on the day of the incident, she left her daughter and a 7-year-old nephew to get ready for school at about 7am.

She said the suspect must have seen her leaving for work and went to their house knowing there was no adult there.

“She said she didn’t even hear the suspect getting inside the house. But when she heard the door locking she came from her bedroom to see who it was, thinking it was a schoolmate from our neighbour to get them for school,” said the mother.

“He was already inside the house with a knife. He had already locked the door and when they appeared from the bedroom, he instructed her back to the bedroom and locked my nephew into a separate room,” she said.

She said the suspect asked for her daughter’s cellphone, and because she did not have one, he allegedly raped her.

“He only stopped when she was crying in pain and he still had his knife on her. He then forced her to take a bath in front of him,” she said.

The mother said the suspect stole valuables from the house and locked the children inside, leaving the keys in the door.

She said her daughter used a knife to break the lock from the inside and ran to the neighbours for help where she was given a telephone to call her.

The Brighton Beach Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit issued an identikit of a man they believe could help with the investigation.

“He is tall with a slender build (body structure) and dark in complexion,” read the SAPS statement.

Police have appealed to anyone with information about the suspect to contact the investigating officer, Constable Balungile Zulu, at 031 203 7334 or 078 647 5115 or Crime Stop at 08600 10111.

Daily News

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