Cape Town - The family of a six-year-old girl, who was allegedly raped by their Bonteheuwel landlord, are living in fear after being threatened by local gangsters.
Jerome Petersen, 53, was arrested by Bishop Lavis police in July after he allegedly raped the child and paid her R5.
According to the victim’s mother, she caught Petersen in a locked bathroom with her daughter.
Doctors confirmed the child had been raped.
The girl’s family lives in a backyard dwelling behind Petersen’s house and she was sent to the main house to collect bathwater for her baby sister.
The case sparked outrage among Bonteheuwel women and ward councillor, Angus McKenzie, who lobbied for his bail to be denied in August.
Bail was denied and Petersen was remanded in custody for the duration of the trial. On Thursday, he made his fourth appearance at Bishop Lavis Magistrates’ Court.
The girl’s parents attended the court proceedings, and while sitting in the gallery, her nervous mother whispered to the Daily Voice: “Sisi, I am worried. They say Kaff’s [Petersen’s] people are looking for us. We left Bonteheuwel, it’s not safe there.”
The child’s father says he was looking for scrap metal in Epping on Wednesday when he was approached by a Bonteheuwel man who claimed he was questioned by a well-known hitman for the Red Devils gang about the family’s whereabouts.
“He said we must stay away from Bonteheuwel because they want to make us af - me, my wife and the whole family - to get the evidence away. They are angry that Kaff is still in jail. They want him out,” says the dad.
McKenzie then arranged for the family to report the matter to the detective in charge of the case.
The ward councillor says: “It is completely unacceptable that the victim and her family must be victimised in this manner. They have already had to leave Bonteheuwel and now need to fear for their lives."
“We will not let gangsters deter the family from getting justice for their daughter. I have heard reports that the Teak Road property is a gang house, but I can assure the family that the people of Bonteheuwel stand with them. We are happy that he is still in custody and call on the community to rally.”
Petersen’s case was postponed to 20 October for further investigation.