Robbie Klay 'stunned' by support

2008-02-12 08:39

Johannesburg - Robbie Klay has been overwhelmed by messages of support and congratulations after his revelation in Beeld newspaper on Monday that he was subjected to sexual abuse by a well-known entertainment figure for seven years.

"If I had known during my years of anguish what I know today, I would have broken my silence long ago.

"I thought I would be rejected by society if the things that happened at that time (between his tenth and 17th birthdays) were revealed.

"But the response stunned me, once I had scraped up enough courage. I got messages of support and encouragement from friends, family and other people."

Klay, who is now 21, still won't name "the uncle", as he refers to the man whom he says committed several sexual deeds with him.

He said: "My intention in speaking out was to get other young people who were being abused by adults to speak out about it, too.

"Judging from the messages, this seems to be exactly what I've achieved. Thank you very much that my story was told and thank you to everyone who has supported me."

Other youths tell of abuse

Meanwhile, Beeld has received a call from a young man who claims he and a friend were molested by the same "uncle".

Both are now adults.

One of them, who is now 25 and a successful Johannesburg entrepreneur, said: "I know who the uncle is and Robbie was very brave to speak out. I was also abused by this "uncle", not as badly as Robbie, but nevertheless - I was 17 at the time."

The other one, he says, is the son of "well-known figures in the theatre world" and he doesn't want to reveal their names.

- Beeld