A mother and father who “did nothing” as their daughters were sexually abused and raped – in return for money – were found guilty on several charges in the Pretoria Regional Court on Monday.
The couple who earlier pleaded not guilty to more than 20 charges of indecent assault, being accomplices to indecent assault and rape, as well as child abuse and neglect, had their bail revoked on Monday and will remain in custody until their fate is disclosed in the new year. They had been granted bail of R3 000 in 2009.
The mother shook her head on several occasions as magistrate Mariette Louw recounted the evidence as presented to the court throughout their trial.
The statement read by Louw said the couple, whose last address was in Mountain View, used their two daughters – then aged five and three years – as sex slaves between the period of December 2005 and December 2007. The siblings were removed from the care of their parents in December 2007 due to neglect.
The instances of sexual abuse came to light when the eldest sister told a teacher about it in 2008.
According to the statement, the siblings told the court how they were taken to several different venues by their mother and father. One was a small hall with a silver roof where they were made to dance in a provocative manner for an audience of men and women; another was a house with posters of naked men and women on the walls. They testified how they had seen their parents at these venues at different times.
The siblings testified that they were forced to perform oral sex on some of the men and, in some cases, toy blocks were pushed into their private parts. The men would also remove their clothes and have sex with them as well as lick their breasts and private parts. The men would pay the mother R100. The siblings were also forced to take photos of their father’s genitals and were forced to clean-up after he urinated and defecated on the carpet.
One of the siblings described the incidents as “unpleasant” and said they happened because “there was not a lot of food on the table”.
The court found the father guilty of assault, indecent assault and child abuse and neglect. He was acquitted on the charges of being an accomplice. Before reading the mother’s verdict, Louw said she (the mother) was the primary caretaker of the siblings and it was very unlikely that she was unaware of what was happening to them. The mother was found guilty of indecent assault, being an accomplice to indecent assault and rape, as well as child abuse and neglect.
Leaving the dock teary-eyed, the mother looked back at family members in the gallery and said: “We will fight.” Sentencing will be in 2012. - Pretoria News