Two-month-old baby raped

2003-12-24 11:11

Johannesburg - A two-month-old baby girl was raped and then abandoned in deserted veld in the Wallacedene informal settlement in Kraaifontein, Cape Peninsula on Monday, eastern metropole police said on Wednesday.

Superintendent Jan Swart said witnesses alerted the police on Tuesday morning after they discovered the infant in the veld.

Subsequently police received information which led them to the Wallacedene informal settlement, where the 22-year-old mother lived.

Upon questioning her, it emerged that the baby had been missing since Monday night around 23:00.

She told the police that she had discovered that her baby was missing when she came back from fetching water.

She had apparently left the baby on her own. Swart said it was evident from the way the child looked, that she had been raped. She was partially dressed but had a nappy on.

She was later taken to the Tygerberg hospital, where she underwent surgery.

Police said they were following strong leads and were hoping to make an arrest soon. They were searching for a 24-year-old man in connection with the rape.

Meanwhile, members of the police's child protection unit have expressed outrage over the senseless rape of this baby and another three-year-old, who was raped before being dumped in a shallow grave. The latter incident happened at a smallholding in Onderstepoort, north of Pretoria. A 32-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the rape.

- SAPA