Cape Town – An alleged child rapist’s home has been demolished by angry community members.
The dance instructor was arrested on Sunday for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl.
The house belonging to the 38-year-old father-of-three in Lotus, Gugulethu, was destroyed on Tuesday morning by residents, who also chased his wife and kids out of the area.
The chairperson of the street committee Thembinkosi Bula says they were alerted by the parents of the 12-year-old, who said they had seen “disturbing messages” between the instructor and the child on her cellphone.
“In the messages they were discussing sex and when they were going to do it,” he says.
“He was asking for nude pictures, but did not receive them. The girl has admitted that she was raped by this man.
“After the parents saw the messages, they approached us for assistance but since we do not deal with rape cases, we asked for police intervention.
“But it seems the people were not happy and they decided to demolish his house after the arrest,” says Bula.
Resident Nomsa Maqhiza says the reason the community destroyed the house was because more children have allegedly come forward claiming they were raped by the man.
He has sexually assaulted more than one child and we will not live with a rapist in our community,” he says.
“He will get bail because that is what happens to other rapists. We do not want him here and if he does return, his safety is not guaranteed.”
Bula says the dance instructor also owns a second shack at a nearby informal settlement that was recently erected, and that has also been demolished by the community.
It is not clear where his family went after the shacks were destroyed.
Only the electrical box was left standing when the Daily Voice visited the shack in Lotus.
Bula says the man has been teaching kids dance for over six years at his house.
“We trusted him and we were proud of the job he was doing,” he says.
“This came as a shock to us and it is still hard to process.
“We were even in the process of getting him funding for his dance group because what he was doing with the youth was beneficial to the community.”
Police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut says: “This office can confirm that a 38-year-old dance instructor was arrested in Gugulethu on Sunday following the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl.
’’The circumstances surrounding the case are under investigation. The allegation that the suspect’s shack was destroyed is yet to be reported to SAPS.”
Daily Voice