An alleged child rapist from Ottery is behind bars after months of raping a 13-year-old girl and “trying to make her his wife”.
The girl’s 66-year-old ouma says the family is relieved after cops finally took action following a Daily Voice story this week, and on Monday caught the man who allegedly held the girl hostage in his hokkie in the Freedom Park informal settlement.
The worried ouma says she was unable to get help from police and went to the home of retired cop Keith Blake, who alerted the Daily Voice and also took the matter up with provincial police.
The woman says despite obtaining a protection order against the man, police failed to rescue the girl from him.
She says the child was initially taken to the man’s hokkie by her drug addict mother several months ago to live with him.
But the mother later disappeared, leaving the girl alone with the man, who then allegedly claimed the child as his wife.
Her family says the man regularly raped the child, beat her, made her do chores and kept her out of school.
The granny says when police came to arrest the suspect on Friday, he fled and hid away over the weekend.
Cops returned on Monday and found him in his shack where he was arrested.
“The police came last Friday to catch him, but he ran away. They went in the front of the hokkie and he ran out the back,” she says.
“They came back on
Monday and got him. She was released back to the family.”
Police spokesperson Constable Wesley Twigg confirms the arrest and says the 27-year-old man has been charged with statutory rape and will appear in the Wynberg Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
The ouma says the girl expressed happiness at being saved.
“They brought her straight to us and she is very happy to be out. We gave statements to the police and they told us they will also open up cases against him for hitting her.
“She seems a lot better and slept at home for the first time (on Monday).
“They told us she will be getting counselling and social workers came to see us.
“We are just happy we have our child back and we want to focus on getting her back into school,” she says.