Johannesburg - A 10-year-old Yeoville boy underwent reconstructive surgery to his rectum this week after he was raped by the caretaker of the building where he lived.
The incident happened in 2020 and the parents claim the matter has been dragging on and they have received no updates from the SAPS or the investigating officer.
Jabu (not his real name), hasn’t been to school and sleeps with the lights on. His parents said he doesn’t want to go for counselling and recently bumped into his alleged attacker at their local KFC.
“My son ran away screaming. He is not coping. We have been to court five times and still nothing has happened,” said the mother.
A paediatric surgeon, who opted to remain anonymous, told The Saturday Star that if a child is raped and requires surgery, the damage done would have had to be extremely severe.
“The anal passage and the muscle would have to be repaired. In some cases, the damage could be so severe that the child would need a colostomy bag for the rest of his life, ”said the doctor.
Jabu, who is in Grade 4, is one of six cases currently with the Teddy Bear Clinic where families are receiving counselling and assistance to help them navigate the justice system. .
In another matter, a now seven-year-old boy was sexual assaulted when he was four by a man who works in a spaza shop in Berea.
His parents say their case has been dragging on since 2019 with no end in sight.
“By the time l realised it, l asked my son and he told me everything. Then l confronted the guy, he denied everything. Without proof we didn't do anything. In 2020 another child older than mine told his mom about the same thing my son told me and then that's when the case was opened. He was arrested and after some time he came back to where we stay .They said he was out on bail,” the mother said.
The frustrated woman said the family attended court several times and was told by the prosecutor that her son was too young to testify.
“They told me they will use his statement which the investigation officer took from him. After that we never heard anything. The guy who did this to my son did this again to another neighbour’s kid and he was arrested,” she said.
The mom said the young boy will start receiving counselling from the Teddy Bear Clinic in August and seems to be coping well.
“He’s in Grade 1. He is fine now. He plays normally with other kids but l think this thing has corrupted his mind. I had a complaint about him that he did something to another kid .Then l spoke to him and he said he did what that guy did to him. Then l called the clinic to ask for counselling,” she said.
Neither the SAPS nor the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Gauteng could provide the Saturday Star with an update on the cases. NPA spokesperson Phindi Mjonodwane said she was on sick leave and that there was nobody else that could answer the query. The Saturday Star tried for two weeks to get comments from the SAPS and the NPA.
Teddy Bear Clinic director Shaheda Omar said Jabu soils himself and doesn’t experience the sensation or urge to expel waste.
“He is also surprised as to when he loses control of his bowels. Each time the family goes to court, the case keeps on being postponed with no valid reason,” she said.
Omar added that the first doctor who examined Jabu did not find anything but this kept on worrying the mother as he was having difficulties to control himself when nature called.
“During the Teddy Bear court preparation programme, the mother shared her difficulties. The Teddy Bear staff with the help of a colonel from the national SAPS office assisted with the assessment of the child by the doctor who discovered that the child was molested and he had suffered internal injuries which would require surgery in order for the child to heal and for his sphincter control to be normal again,” she said.
Omar said the Teddy Bear Clinic is also assisting another family where the child reported to the mother about being raped by her school teacher.
“Her challenge now is that the case has since been postponed a number of times and this has resulted in the family losing hope when it comes to getting justice. However, the perpetrator has been in prison since his arrest in the year 2021.
“The Teddy Bear Foundation continues to provide preparation to the child as the case is still ongoing,” Omar said.
In yet another unresolved matter, a 15-year-old girl was raped by her boyfriend. She was drugged and raped to the point where she passed out and only woke up at the Netcare hospital.
“The case has since been opened, however it has been postponed repeatedly. The mother is now worried that the incident which happened in 2020 is still not yet settled and the child is to turn 18 soon,” said Omar.
She said it was unacceptable that parents are not kept informed and that cases are allowed to drag on and called on the authorities to act with expediency in cases of sexual assault against children.