A Bangladeshi man has been arrested by Grassy Park SAPS after he was caught sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.
Tempers flared in New Horizons on Tuesday night when residents were alerted that the 33-year-old man had taken the young girl away in his car.
Grassy Park station commander Colonel Dawood Laing says shortly after 8pm, cops were called to the scene where residents bayed for the blood of the man who works at a huiswinkel.
“The community was ready to attack the Bangladeshi man after it was discovered that the girl had gone missing with him for some time during the day,” says Laing.
“There were fears about a possible kidnapping, but when they came back, the community got upset and wanted to assault him.
“The residents were deurmekaar and he is lucky they did not get hold of him.
“Officers responded immediately and when questioning the family, they discovered that the girl had been sexually assaulted by the man.”
Laing says during the investigation, the child’s parents were clearly distraught and said they wanted to register a case against the man.
“When questioned, it was revealed that the suspect had taken the victim to fast food outlets on two occasions.
‘He took her to KFC and McDonald’s where he asked her to be her boyfriend and touched her inappropriately inside his vehicle.
“He also allegedly asked her for sex, but she told him no. Her parents were very upset as it appeared that he was attempting to sexually groom the child.”
According to a source, the suspect acted smug in the holding cells and even smiled at cops while they informed him of the charges against him.
Laing says the man was charged with sexual assault and appeared in the Wynberg Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
“At this stage we have not received the docket back yet so we are unsure of the outcome.
“But we applaud the community and the girl’s parents for acting swiftly to ensure her safety.”
Chairperson of the New Horizons neighbourhood watch Abduragman Ganief urged parents to remain vigilant and says the fear is that men who groom young girls for sex might turn violent in their actions against young children.