A senior City of Cape Town official is set to appear in the Mitchells Plain Magistrates’ Court this morning for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl over a period of three years.
The Strandfontein teen’s distraught family say doctors confirmed their daughter had been repeatedly raped and sodomised.
The victim tells the Daily Voice she kept quiet for three years because she was afraid “there would be fights”.
Her 59-year-old father, who may not be named to protect the girl’s identity, says they were left shocked and feeling betrayed when the girl finally opened up to a friend last week about the abuse.
He says about three years ago, the man would spend a lot of time at their Strandfontein home.
SICK: The 13-year-old Strandfontein girl was raped and sodomised for three years
The teen says the man started touching her inappropriately and told her that her father does not love her, she says.
The girl’s parents say the man was very protective over their daughter and she even visited his family home in Strand.
The teen’s 44-year-old mother says: “Last year he suggested we enrol her in a private school in Strand that cost R120 000 a year and even said he would pay for it.
“This was all part of his sick plan to keep her close to him.”
The girl says she was raped in her parents’ home any chance the suspect got to be alone with her.
She says two weekends ago, he visited her parents and while she was drying the dishes in the kitchen, he forced himself onto her.
The frightened teen says he dragged her to the ground and she had to stab him with a fork to get him off her.
EMPLOY: The suspect is a senior City official
Several days later, she told her family about the sex attacks and they went to the police.
On the Friday, the suspect was called by detectives and he agreed to meet them at Strandfontein Police Station where he was arrested.
Police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut confirms a man, 54, was arrested for the rape of a victim, 13, and will appear in court today.
“ The circumstances surrounding the case are still under investigation and further details cannot be disclosed at this stage.”
City spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo confirms the suspect is a City of Cape Town employee, but they are not aware of the arrest.