Cape Town - A new investigator has been assigned to probe allegations of sexual exploitation in the case against five people accused of selling a 13-year-old girl for sex in the Atlantis area.
This emerged in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Friday when those accused of selling the girl for as little as R20 appeared in court.
The girl’s mother and stepfather - whose identities have been withheld - and three others, Maranatha Lotrict, 28, of Frankdale, Evelina Fortuin, 30, and Denise Muller, 33, of the Philadelphia informal settlement outside Atlantis, have been charged in connection with the allegations.
Prosecutor Vusi Tshabalala told the court the docket was with the Director of Public Prosecutions, who has yet to decide whether the five will go on trial in the Cape Town Regional Court or the Western Cape High Court.
Tshabalala said: “The docket is with the Director of Public Prosecutions. A new investigating officer has been appointed. Queries arose and need to be addressed.”
Court officials would only name the new investigator as Warrant Officer Bam.
According to court documents, the mother sold her daughter for R100, R50 and R20 and watched while a number of men raped her in a secluded park or bushy area. The money was allegedly used to buy alcohol.
The child reported the incident to her teacher and the police later arrested the girl’s mother.
Last year, the woman was sent to Victoria Hospital for mental evaluation. A doctor found she did not have psychotic tendencies. The provisional charges the five face include rape, human trafficking and sexual grooming over a period.
Tshabalala asked that the case be postponed for a month to allow for further investigation and a final decision from the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Magistrate Nikki Oakes responded: “This is not something the court will lightly strike off the roll. These are very serious charges”.