Pretoria - Only DNA evidence will reveal whether the man accused of raping his 2-year-old niece, or her 15-year-old brother, committed the crime, the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court heard yesterday.
The 27-year-old accused will return to court on December 13 during which DNA results are expected to be presented.
“DNA, in particular, is still outstanding in this matter and I am quite confident that upon its release it will conclusively determine who may be guilty of the offence,” the magistrate said while delivering the bail verdict.
The court heard that the grandmother of the child claimed it was her 15-year-old brother who raped her on September 24.
People from all walks of life were in court to support the mother, 36, who begged the court not to release the accused on bail.
People hugged each other and shed tears when the mother told the court of the injuries her daughter sustained during the rape.
The accused appeared unmoved and ignored the noise from behind him. When he was allegedly caught in the act by the mother, he threw the child to the floor and turned his back on the mother.
It was said that he showed no remorse and told the mother “I do not care” after she said she would report him to the police.
It also emerged that the mother of the victim had fallen out with her mother, who had not wanted her to report the matter to the police but rather allow the family to deal with it.
The magistrate earlier said despite the evidence, he was not convinced that the accused would interfere with investigations which were almost final. The accused handed himself over to the police. He also had no previous convictions.
However, relief came when he said he could not ignore that it was testified in court that the accused had a history of hostility towards the mother of the child and was related to her.
“I must confess that this has been a challenging bail application, especially when one takes into consideration that to prove this offence one must allow DNA to play a vital role.
“I have indicated also the criticism that the accused’s legal representative has levelled against the complainant in this matter (that she went back to their home where the alleged incident occurred, to clean the house for her mother who was due to be discharged from hospital, despite claiming that she never felt safe around her brother).
“On an inspection of the evidence I cannot find that there are exceptional circumstances in this matter, which in the interest of justice permit the release of the accused on bail.
“Consequently, I make the following order: the application for bail is dismissed.”
EFF Soshanguve Block WW Ward 36 branch secretary Dorothy Singo said she was happy with the outcome.
She said they would have been heartbroken had the court granted the accused bail, after allegedly committing a violent and sexual crime on a child that could barely speak.
ANC Women’s League secretary-general for Ward 36, Linah Mashaba, said: “We are proud as women and wish they could have already convicted him and threw the keys away.
“There is no way we are going to live with people like this in our community. They are killers who destroy the lives of our children. He destroyed a child’s future. ”
Chairperson of the SA National Civic Organisation in Tshwane, who also submitted a petition against bail in court, Fire Mashao, said: “Gender-based violence is our concern. We want to say to the perpetrator and the government that those who are found doing things like these must rot in prison, and we are rejecting any kind of application for bail in crimes of this nature.”
Pretoria News