Cape Town - A five-year-old Mitchell's Plain girl is recovering in hospital after being raped by a man she knows.
The girl from Tafelsig was raped on Sunday, allegedly by a man known to her family, after walking to a tuck-shop with the 49-year-old man.
The suspect is believed to have taken the little girl to an open field, near the Kapteinsklip train station where he raped her.
Her family was notified of the incident by members of the community who saw her lying in the field.
Girl points out HIV+ man as her alleged rapist https://t.co/NiixDfahG6
via @IOL
— Cape Argus (@TheCapeArgus) August 21, 2017
The little girl was able to identify the suspect, who was later arrested by police.
Police spokesperson Noloyiso Rwexana said: "A 49-year-old man was arrested and once charged he will appear in the Mitchell’s Plain Magistrates’ court."
The Mitchell's Plain Crisis Forum visited the family on Monday and took the victim's mother to a clinic for observation.
Faizel Brown, Mitchell's Plain Crisis Forum spokesperson, speaks out about the rape of a five-year-old girl. Video: Yolisa Tswanya/Cape Argus
The forum's spokesperson Faizel Brown said the mother was pregnant and was in shock, and needed medical attention.
"There was a need for counselling for the victim and the family. She (the rape victim) was sent to hospital and it was positively identified that she was molested."
Brown said something needed to be done about the ongoing scourge of child rapes.
"It's very upsetting. There has been an increase in these incidents. We want an inquiry to be set up to deal with with this ongoing situation."
He said many perpetrators were repeat offenders and something needed to be done to get them out of communities.