He threatened me, girl claims

2008-03-26 22:41

Pretoria - A girl allegedly molested by Andrew Jordaan, the man accused of murdering seven-year-old Sheldean Human, said he threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the abuse.

Counsel for Jordaan, who has pleaded not guilty to six charges including murder and rape, revealed the girl's claim during cross-examination of a state witness in the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday.

The thin, dark-haired girl on Wednesday testified behind closed doors through an intermediary - after the court heard that evidence in an open court could further harm her emotionally and influence the accuracy of her testimony.

The girl was only seven-years-old when Jordaan allegedly began indecently assaulting, sodomising and raping her.

Vital witness

She is also a vital witness in the State's case against Jordaan in connection with the murder of her friend Sheldean.

On Tuesday during cross-examination, a State witness revealed that the girl had not only testified about several instances of sexual abuse, but had also told the court she did not tell her mother about it because Jordaan had threatened to kill her.

She also did not tell her mother about the "ugly things" because she was scared her father would hit Jordaan, a family friend, and go to jail.

A police child abuse expert, Captain L'Marie Strauss, said she was asked to take a statement from a child witness in the Sheldean murder case, because of her expertise in working with children.

With Sheldean on day she died

The girl had at first not said anything about her alleged sexual abuse, but the almost jealous way in which she talked about Jordaan's friendship with Sheldean made Strauss suspect that the witness might have been sexually abused.

The girl, who was with Sheldean on the day of her death, told Strauss she knew something was wrong and that she was sure Andrew (Jordaan) was going to take Sheldean to his room and his bed, because she could see he liked looking at her private parts.

The girl for the first time revealed her own alleged sexual abuse when Strauss went to interview her a year later, shortly before the start of the trial. This resulted in additional charges being added against Jordaan.

The girl's mother, who said Jordaan was a good friend, testified that she had never asked her child about the alleged sexual abuse, even after police had told her about it, because she knew "nothing was wrong".

She claimed to have an excellent relationship with her daughter and that the child did "very well" at school.

Intense need for a hug

Strauss, however, revealed a quite different picture of a little girl who had a negative and strained relationship with her mother; felt that her emotional and physical needs were not being taken care of; and did not feel safe enough to talk to her mother about her problems.

During an interview the girl identified with a child who was hungry, sick and a victim, and expressed an intense need for love, hugs and not being hungry all the time.

Strauss said the child specifically asked her not to tell her mother about the sexual abuse and not to have her mother present in court when she testified.

- SAPA