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- A teenage mother and her boyfriend have been arrested after the death of a 2-year-old girl.
- The man is alleged to have raped and assaulted the girl.
- The mother was arrested for allegedly failing to report previous assaults.
A 17-year-old mother and her 30-year-old boyfriend are expected to appear before Protea Magistrates Court on Wednesday after an incident on November 15 in which the teenager’s 2-year-old daughter was allegedly raped and assaulted in Diepkloof. . Soweto.
According to police spokesman Brigadier Mathapelo Peters, the girl succumbed to her injuries and was certified dead on November 19.
The couple were arrested in Diepkloof on Tuesday.
“On November 16, members of the specialized unit on family violence, child protection and sexual crimes (FCS) were summoned by a doctor from the Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital to alert the police to the rape of a 2-year-old boy who had been assaulted and brought in the night before for medical attention, “Peters said.
READ | 5-year-old boy raped in Mpumalanga hospital, allegedly by a 12-year-old boy
“An urgent forensic investigation was launched and all relevant forensic evidence was collected for processing by the SAPS Forensic Science Laboratory.”
The next day, the 17-year-old mother of the victim reported the incident to the police. This helped police obtain vital information to build a strong case to secure arrests, Peters said.
Previous unreported abuse
Police established that the mother had left her daughter in the care of her boyfriend for about two hours on November 15. Upon his return around 8:30 p.m., he found the boy asleep.
He then woke up in the middle of the night to see how the girl was doing, only to find her with serious injuries to her face, Peters said. He took the boy to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital for medical attention. The boy was found to have been penetrated and the doctor called the police.
“Sadly, the girl succumbed to her injuries and was certified dead on November 19, and the initial case of assault with intent to cause serious bodily harm was later changed to murder,” Peters said.
He added that the police have reason to believe that the girl may have suffered previous abuse at the hands of her stepfather, who was not reported. This is the basis for the arrest of the adolescent mother who, in this case, reported the incident to the police only two days after the alleged assault and rape.
Gauteng Acting Police Commissioner Major General Patricia Rampota welcomed the arrest and urged the investigation team to ensure that all bases are covered to achieve justice for the child.
