SOUTH AFRICA: Boy With Down Syndrome, 13, Raped By School Staff Member
South Africa boasts the unfortunate reputation of having one of the worst rape rates on the entire planet.
Around 40% of women are expected to be raped in their lifetime.
For those aged between 15-49, around 19% are HIV positive.
In some parts of the Rainbow Nation, superstitious cures for HIV–such as having sexual intercourse with a virgin–has meant that in some extreme cases, even infants have been raped.
It was recently alleged that a special needs boy, 13, was raped in a classroom at a special needs school by a “member of staff”.
The Sun reports:
The boy’s mother, who has not been named, said her son was acting strangely when she picked him up from school and noticed a strange smell.
Advertisement - story continues belowSpeaking to local publication Sowetan Live, she said: “His eyes were red as if he was crying and when we stepped into the vehicle I noticed a smell emanating from him. As if he didn’t wipe himself properly after using the toilet.”
She said she had spent over an hour looking for her son at the East Rand school on Monday August 5.
Speaking she said: “I was frantic when I didn’t find him where I usually pick him up.”
Doctors later found that the boy had, indeed, been raped.
According to Newsweek:
The mother found something strange in the boy’s behavior at the time but said nothing. When they got home, she noticed bloodstains and semen on his underwear, which is when the child informed her he’d been raped.
“He said this was when I was looking for him and that [the suspect] beat him and threatened to kill him if he responded to my calls,” she added.
The mother claimed that after reporting the alleged attack, the school did not immediately suspend the suspect, who continued working on the grounds.
Gauteng Education spokesman Steve Mabona denied the mother’s version of events and said the worker was suspended immediately and that he is due to appear at a disciplinary process in due course.
No arrests have been made.
The mother suspects the rapist continues working at her son’s special needs school.
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