Cape Town - Tuesday was just an ordinary day in the Parow Regional Court - a court which hears at least three rape cases each day. In most cases the victims are young girls and boys.
On a busy day, there are seven cases and sometimes more. Last week, the court dealt with 26 cases.
On Tuesday, the court was hearing the case of Derrick Johannes. He is a 58-year-old man accused of raping two girls aged 10 and 11.
During the morning session, one of the victims testified via video link in camera.
In the next session, the victim’s mother testified about the alleged rape in March.
The accused is the mother’s uncle and she told the court on Tuesday how she was also sexually abused as a young girl by the same man.
Johannes, from Bishop Lavis, stands accused of four counts of rape, two counts for each girl.
The victim’s mother calmly told the court about how she asked her daughter one day where she had found the money to buy a parcel of fish and chips which the two girls had been seen eating.
“She said they cleaned my aunt’s house for the money but I asked her why my aunt would ask her to do char work and pay her.
Then I asked her (the victim) whether the cleaning maybe involved playing with uncle Derrick’s penis,” the mother said.
Prosecutor Portia Chauke asked why she had posed this question to her daughter.
The mother broke down and said: “Because that’s what my uncle did to me as well.”
Her daughter at first told her that there had been no such encounter but later started crying, saying she did not want to do it but she was hungry and he had said he would give them money if they played with him.
The mother also told the court how she repeatedly told her daughter not to go to the man’s house alone fearing he would also sexually abuse her.
Johannes’ case was postponed. He is out on bail and his trial is set to continue on March 27.
In another case on Tuesday, accused Rubin Windvogel was meant to be sentenced for raping and assaulting his 19-year-old victim.
The sentencing was postponed as his lawyer was not available on Tuesday.
Windvogel, 30 was convicted on January 30 of raping and stabbing his victim in September 2011.
His case was postponed until February 27.
Cape Times