Cape Town - The young man from Manenberg who allegedly sexually assaulted his 75-year-old girlfriend’s grandchildren was granted bail in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court on Monday.
Keagan Klein, 27, was arrested on Sunday at his elderly girlfriend’s home in Thames Avenue after going on the run for two days.
Manenberg residents went crazy on Sunday morning and attacked local cops, demanding they hand over the alleged sex pest to them.
According to a source, Klein has been dating the grandmother for several months and moved into her home which she shares with her two granddaughters, cousins aged eight and nine.
“He has allegedly been grooming the girls and penetrated their vaginas with his fingers. He allegedly did not use his penis but one of the girls exposed him to her mother, who went to the police station and opened a case (last Friday),” says the source.
On the run
Manenberg Police Station commander Brigadier Enolium Joseph confirmed the case.
He says when cops went to arrest Klein on Friday, he went on the run but following a tip-off, they nabbed him on Sunday at his girlfriend’s house.
The case was postponed to 3 May for further investigation.
It is not clear how much bail he paid.
A police source says: “When questioned about his relationship with the grandmother, Klein said: "Julle sal nie verstaan nie" (You won't understand).
Meanwhile, Manenberg Safety Forum chairperson Roegshanda Pascoe says the community is angry with the grandmother and threatened to assault her after her boyfriend was arrested.
“Die mense was kwaad (People were angry), because this guy... if he got the chance, he would have raped one of those girls because the family wasn’t taking note,” she says.
“Die mense wou die ou vrou slaan (People wanted to beat up the old woman), but I told them to calm down and let the law take its course.
Negligence
“But as the community, we are calling for action against the grandmother for negligence.
“We don’t want these men in our community because we cannot have another Chanelle [McCrawl] in Manenberg,” she adds, referring to the 10-year old meisie (girl) who was raped and killed, allegedly by her uncle, last year.
Meanwhile, Facebook users reacted to the news by poking fun at the grandmother, while others slammed her.
“Daai ouma moet in die eerste plek van beter geweet het as om vir ‘n B** T** te val... spulse ouma (That grandmother should have known better than to fall for a young lover in the first place). High five to the community, one sexual abuser less on the streets,” one user wrote.
Another said: “Why on earth would he be interested in (a 75-year-old), he planned it carefully.
“His aim was to get to the grandkids.”