54-year-old man arrested for allegedly raping four children in one morning
· Citizen
A 54-year-old Limpopo man has been arrested after he allegedly raped four children between the ages of 7 and 9.
Visit umafrika.club for more information.
According to preliminary investigations by the South African Police Service (SAPS), the four were playing together on Thursday morning in a community within the Lebowakgomo Policing area, when they decided to visit the suspect’s house, just a few properties away.
“Upon their arrival, the suspect allegedly took the first two children inside the house and raped them. Afterwards, he released them. The other two victims were also instructed to get inside the house and were also allegedly raped.
“After his deeds, he allegedly threatened the victims not to inform their parents about what happened.”
A grandmother of one of the victims became suspicious when she noticed strange behaviour in the child and asked what had happened. Once she was told about the incident, the victim’s mothers were notified and immediately reported the matter to the police.
The Lebowakgomo Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit arrested the man, and he is expected to appear before the Lebowakgomo Magistrate’s court on Monday on four counts of rape.
Limpopo provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, welcomed the arrest and urged parents and guardians to safeguard their children at all times.
“It is disturbing to learn that some people who are supposed to be entrusted with protecting and looking after children tend to be perpetrators, and we will stop at nothing to make sure such people face the full might of the law”, Hadebe said.
War on children
According to the police ministry, 536 cases of statutory rape, or rape of a minor, were reported to the police in the period 1 April 2024 to 31 January 2025.
“83 of the specified cases resulted in successful prosecutions, 179 cases were withdrawn before court, one was found not guilty, 58 cases were withdrawn in court, and 98 cases were settled otherwise. 117 cases are still under investigation,” it said in response to a parliamentary question earlier this year.
Child welfare watchdogs and civil society organisations all acknowledge that rape is under-reported in the country and that the number of assaults is likely far higher than those reported by police.
Legislation says that anyone who has knowledge that a sexual offence has been committed against a child must report it immediately to a member of the police for investigation.
“All cases of sexual offences that are reported to the SAPS are investigated, in order to detect and arrest the perpetrator.
“The SAPS regularly conducts community awareness programmes that address the issue of rape, as it is considered to be a priority crime and a key facet of gender-based violence and femicide, during which the community is urged to report all cases of rape to the SAPS for investigation.
“The SAPS is, therefore, clear in its communications that failure to report statutory rape is a criminal act,” the police ministry said.