A Durban mother is demanding justice after her daughter was allegedly raped at a daycare facility in Newlands East.
At this stage, the daycare owner’s husband is accused of raping the one-year-old.
It is alleged that the incident occurred when the other children at the facility were taken for swimming lessons and the little girl was left behind because she still has yet to be fully potty-trained.
In an interview with IOL, the woman said police have yet to effect an arrest despite her opening a case and more people coming forward with similar allegations.
According to the woman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of her child, she noticed swelling and redness around her daughter’s vagina while bathing her.
“She said her private parts were sore and I thought it was nappy rash because she does suffer with that,” the woman told IOL.
“When I gave her a bath, I had a look and sore that her private part was swollen and red. There was also a tearing on her vagina and I took her to hospital. The doctor dismissed it as an infection and I wasn’t happy with that. I took her to another doctor and he said he could see signs of abuse.”
The distraught mother said she was then called by Newlands East police and asked to come to the station.
“I had posted the incident on social media and went to the police station. I went to the station and a social worker spoke to me. I was told that they were coming to lock me up and take away my child because I didn’t do things the right way,” the woman claimed.
She said she showed the social worker the video and was told to take her daughter to Mahatma Gandhi hospital and when the child was examined, the doctor said he could see that the child had been penetrated.
“She was bruised and the area was inflamed. I filled out documents while staff administered medication to my child. I then took all the documents to the police station and opened a case,” the mother said.
The mother claimed that following her post on social media, there were further allegations that he raped another young girl at the facility.
IOL has seen copies of the doctor’s documents which tell a gruesome story.
Dr Nadia Bernon, an activist and Rapid Response Team on Gender Based Violence and Femicide team leader, said there have been allegations of rape levelled against the man, however, people have not taken further action after they were threatened, allegedly by the man’s police officer relative.
Bernon said the Newlands East community was up in arms over the allegations.
“We want justice and his immediate arrest. We also want anyone else who was on the property on the day of the incident, to be arrested. We want the facility shut down while police investigate,” she said.
Bernon said when the arrests are effected and the accused appear in court, the Newlands East Humane Society wants the court to refuse bail.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo, confirmed that a case has been opened.
“Police in Newlands East have opened rape case following an incident in which a one-year-old girl was allegedly raped on Monday, May 6. The docket was transferred to Inanda Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) for further investigation,” she said.
IOL News