Robbers put boy in therapy

2003-11-07 21:48

Lizel Steenkamp

Johannesburg - A seven-year-old boy from Roodepoort is receiving psychological counselling after being held for two hours, along with his mother, by burglars who threatened to rape him.

The words used by the robbers were so foul that the boy, Sheldon March, refused to repeat them to his grandfather.

Four armed robbers held up Sheldon and his mother, Denise March, on October 29 in their house in Honey Hill, Roodepoort.

March said: "All four pointed pistols at me. I just threw up my hands in the air and begged them not to hurt me."

Sheldon, who had been asleep in his bedroom upstairs, awoke when the robbers fired a shot at the dog. March was already tied up on the couch when her son ran down the stairs.

"One grabbed him by the arm and said something to him," she said. "I will never forget my child's eyes - they were like saucers."

Even the pots and pans

Sheldon's hands and feet were also tied. The robbers then packed cushions on them before clearing out the house.

"We lay like that for an hour and a half. I was too scared to move a finger," said March.

The robbers took all their possessions including pots and pans and packed the goods into March's car.

March said: "Before leaving, one said to me: 'I am sorry for what we had to do to you, madam'."

Since the incident, Sheldon has been terrified to sleep in their house and only went back to school this week. He is receiving therapy.

"I am a nervous wreck," said a tearful March.

Inspector Yolanda Bouwer of the police confirmed the incident. No one has been arrested yet in connection with the attack.

- Beeld