A taxi driver out on parole after being jailed for raping a disabled woman is back in the tjoekie after he allegedly sexually assaulted a five-year-old girl in his vehicle.
The 41-year-old man from Genadendal is applying for bail in the Caledon Magistrates’ Court today.
According to the child’s ouma, the little girl acted strangely when the driver dropped her off from school on Friday, July 29.
The usually spontaneous and bubbly meisie was “babyish” that afternoon.
The child said she was alone in the taxi with the driver while they were waiting in Myddleton on the bigger children to come from school.
“I felt very uneasy when she told me he played with them and tickled them,” the ouma explains.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel André Traut confirms that a case was opened on 2 August.
The man had allegedly penetrated the young victim with his finger.
“A 41-year-old suspect was arrested on a charge of rape and the case was postponed until 16 August for bail application,” adds Traut.
He also confirmed that the suspect served time behind bars for raping a woman from Genadendal a few years ago.
A relative of the victim, who asked to remain anonymous, is questioning why the suspect was allowed to transport school children in the first place.
“ Hy het haar flou geslaan en verkrag,” says the woman of her disabled relative, who was in a wheelchair.
The suspect was released on parole a year ago.
“It’s sick, man. He needs help because he is just going to keep on doing this every time he comes out of jail,” she says.