By Staff Reporter
LULEKANI-Biological mother and stepfather arrested for the alleged rape of a minor in Lulekani.
Two suspects, biological mother and stepfather, were arrested after a 14-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her stepfather on the 24th September 2023 at Lulekani outside Phalaborwa.
The victim’s stepfather aged 42 who is a prison warder as well and the minor’s mother aged 46 who reportedly assisted the perpetrator in committing the crime were arrested at their home on Monday, 25 September 2023.
The couple was arrested after the victim reported the matter to the police and the case of rape was opened and then transferred to the Phalaborwa Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit for further investigation.
It is alleged that when the victim refused to sleep with her stepfather, both suspects assaulted her and forcibly took her to the bedroom where the perpetrator raped her while her mother pinned her down.
The suspects made their first court appearance on Tuesday, 26 September 2023 and were remanded in custody until they were each granted R2000-00 bail when they appeared again before the Lulekani Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 02 October 2023.
Their case was postponed until 24 November 2023 for further police investigations. The man was charged with rape and the mother faces charges of having been an accomplice in the rape case.
The identity of the suspects cannot be disclosed to protect the victim.
