Desmond Kriger faces charges of rape and sexual assault of six girls who attended a Cape crèche where he was living.
|||Cape Town - A 64-year-old man, who faces charges of sexually assaulting and raping crèche girls, appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday in a bail application hearing.
Desmond Kriger of Athlone faces three charges of rape and three of sexual assault of six girls who attended the Little Angels Educare Centre, in some cases as long as 10 years ago.
Previously, he had been arrested on a charge of sexual assault, and was released on R1 000 bail. But on April 4 he was arrested in connection with the latest six cases, and has since been in custody.
The court heard that in the latest case Kriger had allegedly fondled young girls either while driving them home from crèche or aftercare, or during playtime. The girls told similar stories of how “Uncle Des” would arrange to have one girl sitting in front with him in his bakkie, giving him the opportunity to fondle them.
Others reported sitting on his lap during playtime, sometimes two girls at a time, while the alleged sexual assaults took place.
The court heard that when Kriger’s wife died in 2009 his daughter took over the crèche, with Kriger living upstairs. It has now been closed by the Department of Social Development.
His attorney, Terance Erasmus, read out an affidavit on Tuesday in which Kriger said he had been attacked in the holding cells.
In the witness box on Tuesday, investigating officer Warrant Officer Farouk Sonday described the cases of the six latest alleged victims.
Some of the cases had been re-opened after investigation.
A 21-year-old woman had reported an incident that happened at aftercare, which she attended from the ages of 6 to 11. For years she had not told anyone that Kriger had sexually assaulted her. When she met another person who had had a similar experience she told her parents.
Her parents confronted the Krigers, but it was only after the woman had heard other young girls had allegedly been molested by Kriger that she went to the police. There was no medical evidence to support her claims.
In another case a four-year-old girl was questioned after her mother fetched her from school and found she was no longer wearing panties. She later told her mother Kriger had sexually assaulted her.
Sonday said he had received a call from a mother claiming her 12-year-old daughter had been sexually assaulted by Kriger when she was five.
In another matter, a girl who is now six claimed she was four when she was sexually assaulted.
natasha.prince@inl.co.za
Cape Argus