Cops in uniform 'gang-raped me'

2009-10-27 08:13

Magdel Fourie

Johannesburg - A mother-of-three was allegedly “repeatedly” raped by two uniformed policemen in Kempton Park in the early hours of Sunday morning.

When he heard about it, Martie Olivier’s husband, Sarel, went to the Kempton Park police station and assaulted various police officers on duty before being brought under control.

He said they were unable to lay a charge of rape later that day because the police refused to take their statements.

Although rape victims are not normally identified, the couple gave permission for their names to be published.

Nightmare

The couple’s nightmare apparently began shortly after midnight. Olivier said he and his wife, 29, were at a braai at his parents’ house in Birch Acres on Saturday night, after which they went to a nearby pub for a drink.

Olivier said that on his way home, he drove into a driveway and out again as he made a U-turn. A marked police van suddenly stopped in front of the couple’s Toyota Run-X.

Two men in police uniform climbed out of the van and moved to the driver’s side of their car before yanking the door open, he said. They then allegedly threw him into the back of the van without explanation.

"One of the policemen approached me and asked what I was prepared to give them in exchange for my husband’s release,” said Martie.

 She gave him the R400 she had on her.

However, the man asked: “Do you really love your husband? Is there nothing more you can do?” He then allegedly climbed into the driver’s seat of the Toyota and drove toward the Kempton Park police station. The police van followed, she said.

Olivier, who was in the police van, said: “About 200m from the police station I noticed the car pulling off the road, but I thought nothing of it. It’s the police after all.”

At the police station, the policeman driving the van opened the doors at the back and told him he had been caught driving under the influence, but that he was free to go.

The other policeman arrived shortly afterwards in the Toyota with Olivier’s wife in the passenger’s seat. When Olivier climbed into their car, she told him she had been raped.

Traumatised

“She appeared traumatised and I could see her underwear had been torn,” he said.

It was then that he attacked police officers with bare fists. Olivier’s hand was still bandaged on Monday.

“When I returned to the car, my wife was gone. I thought she had run away.”

She allegedly lost consciousness when one of the policemen slammed her head into the dashboard while her husband was inside the police station. There were two policemen in the car with her when her husband was inside the station.

She said she came to on a lounge floor in an unfamiliar house. Her next recollection was of a security guard who woke her in a flowerbed at Boston Business College.

“He asked me why the police had dropped me off there. I couldn’t give him an answer,” she said.

After hours of searching, Olivier said he saw his wife in a traumatised condition walking from the Boston Business College at “exactly 07:20”.

Injuries

He immediately took her to the police station, after which she was medically examined at a nearby trauma centre, where evidence of a rape was found on her body and dress. She also had visible injuries.

When Beeld saw her, she had an enormous bump on her forehead.

“I have scratch marks and bruises between my legs and on my body. In our car there was also blood from the first time I was raped.”

She was given anti-retroviral medication to protect her against HIV.

The couple laid charges of rape, assault and bribery on Monday.

She told Beeld: “I don’t remember everything exactly. I was so nervous when I had to lay the charge. I didn’t even want to go there. I don’t trust anyone now,” she said.

She is, however, determined to “stay strong”, adding: “Who knows who will be next on their list?”

Incoherent

Gauteng police spokesperson, Superintendent Eugene Opperman, said on Monday that Martie Olivier "was too incoherent" for police to be able to take down her statement after the alleged rape.

Opperman also said Olivier could remember "too little" and couldn't provide enough information.

She was, however, medically examined and the couple's vehicle was also searched. Charges of rape, assault and bribery were finally laid on Monday morning and the couple's statements were taken.

"The case is now being investigated," said Opperman.

Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Vish Naidoo added that charges of this nature were regarded in a very serious light.

- Beeld