Girl escapes rapist stepdad
2008-07-11 21:30
Oris Mnisi & Sydney Masinga
Bushbuckridge - An Mpumalanga teacher has been accused of raping his 10-year-old stepdaughter since before her mother died last year.
The girl reported the matter to her biological father and her stepmother on Thursday after running away from home, hitchhiking about 50km from Sabie to Casteel in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga.
"Last week, my daughter ran away from her stepfather without any change of clothing. Somehow, she managed to locate me," said her father.
The Grade 4 pupil attends a school in in Sabie where the suspect teaches.
On Thursday, during a chat with her stepmother and two stepsisters, she said that her stepfather had been raping her since early last year, before her mother died.
"I immediately reported the matter to the department of social services in Bushbuckridge," said her father.
"This guy is a rare devil. He didn't let my daughter visit me. We are going to open a rape case against him. I want the police to bust him at work, come Monday. What kind of a teacher rapes young girls?"
The girl had allegedly told her late mother about the rapes, but her mother ignored her.
When her mother died, her grandmother took her in, but her stepfather eventually fetched her.
Bushbuckridge social service spokesperson, Martin Makwela, said the family had been advised to open a rape case with the authorities.
- African Eye