HIV fear for rape victim

2008-08-27 21:17

Cape Town - A young woman feared she could be HIV-positive after being raped, allegedly by serial rapist Tsediso Letsoenya, the Cape High Court heard on Wednesday.

The woman, "X", who may not be named, told the court she and two female companions ("Y" and "Z") were going to a traditional healer around 19:00 on a Wednesday night in February 2004.

She said it was dark and they could either take a shortcut via a road with bushes on the left, or a safer but longer route past a police station. Although they were frightened, they decided to take the shortcut.

As they walked, they were relieved to see a man going in the same direction ahead of them, who, they thought, they could rely on for protection in the dark.

She told the court they walked faster, to catch up with him. As they approached him he turned and pointed a gun at them. They were led into the bushes, ordered to undress and led further into the bushes. They were too frightened to resist, and did as he commanded, she said.

She told the court the man first indecently assaulted Z, before raping Z. He then did the same to Y, before indecently assaulting and raping X as well. The woman said she managed to secretly look at his face during the ordeal.

After he had raped all of them, he walked off into the dark, she said.

She said Z, a married mother, went home to her husband, while the other two spent the night together.

The next day the married mother visited them, and complained that she had been unable to sleep, or to breast-feed her baby, as she feared she was now HIV-positive and would infect her baby.

Asked how she felt about her ordeal, the victim replied: "I have not been for counselling and fear I may be HIV-positive."

The case continues on Thursday.

- SAPA