On Monday, a 31-year-old man from Brits, North West, identified in court as a Malawian national, appeared in court on charges related to the alleged molestation of his one-month-old daughter.
How a Brits man was charged with allegedly molesting one-month-old daughter
In a statement, police spokesperson Captain Aafje Botma confirmed that the arrest occurred on Thursday, 19 October 2023, in Krokodildrif West, a farming settlement situated in the Madibeng Local Municipality.
Local police took the man into custody following a distressing incident involving his infant daughter.
What authorities know about the horrific rape incident
According to police reports, the infant’s 27-year-old mother was preparing food outside their shack, while the father and the baby were inside, presumably asleep.
However, much to the mother’s horror, she rushed into the shack when she heard her daughter cry, only to discover both the father and the baby undressed.
More shocking, the newborn had spurts of blood in and around her nether regions.
According to Capt Botma, the woman screamed for help, alerting a neighbour who subsequently called the police. The one-month-old was taken to Brits Hospital for a medical examination and was later admitted for further care.
The suspect was arrested and appeared briefly in the Brits Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 23 October 2023, facing charges of rape.
The matter has been postponed to 3 November 2023 to allow court officials to organise an interpreter.
The prevalence of child rape in South Africa
In 2020, Interpol released a report, naming South Africa the “Rape Capital of the World.”
Based on the statistics detailed in the report, the situation is dire: someone in South Africa is raped or sexually abused every 25 seconds.
Also, it is estimated that a woman born in South Africa has a higher chance of being raped than learning to read. Shockingly, two out of five male learners claim they have been raped, according to a survey conducted in 1,200 schools nationwide.