Cape Town - “I’m the tip of the iceberg.”
The man who came forward last week to publicly disclose his alleged sexual abuse at the hands of his father, a former Camps Bay Police Station Commander, has said the case is much bigger than just his own story.
Daniel Weclaw exposed the childhood abuse that he suffered at the hands of his father, former SAPS Captain Zbiegniew Andrez Weclaw, in the wake of his father’s arrest last week. Zbiegniew has been charged with indecent assault and child pornography, and is currently out on bail.
Boxes worth of DVDs, allegedly containing home videos with pornographic content of children, were confiscated by police from the accused’s flat in Vredehoek.
“This is much bigger, there’s more people involved than I even think,” Daniel said this week.
“I’ve always believed that it wasn't just me. I do believe there were other people involved and other people have been hurt. And if there are other people who have come forward, then he must be exposed at the end of the day.”
Since going public about the abuse in a Facebook post last week, Daniel has been inundated with media attention as well as support from friends, family and GBV activist groups.
“It’s been very overwhelming. I’m a bit of an introvert myself. I don’t like being in the spotlight much, so it is affecting me,” he said.
“It’s hard to come out and do this. It took me years and years to come out. The support has been amazing – they say they really commend me on my braveness in coming out and saying something, and they’re especially wanting men to come forward and stand up (against abuse). Maybe we can make a change in the system.”
The outpouring of support from former colleagues of Daniel’s father has been particularly buoying.
“His old colleagues have been absolutely amazing, they’ve all contacted me. They are great guys, they are nothing like my father. If I knew how much support (I would receive), I think I would’ve come out a long time ago and not only now.”
Brigadier Novela Potelwa confirmed that the Saps’ Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) division would be handling the investigation.
When contacted for comment, Zbiegniew refused to respond, saying he had nothing to discuss.
He is due back in court in January next year.
Weekend Argus