The man accused of abducting and raping two children in Ceres was on parole after a previous conviction.
|||Cape Town - In a shock revelation, the Ceres Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday heard that the man accused of abducting and raping a four-month-old girl and seven-year-old boy was on parole after a previous conviction for attempted rape.
National Director of Public Prosecutions spokesman Eric Ntabazalila confirmed on Wednesday that the man was sentenced on August 27 last year to three years in jail for attempted rape, and served a portion of his sentence behind bars before being released on parole.
His parole has been cancelled because of the latest case against him.
Ntabazalila said the man, whose identity is being withheld following an order by magistrate Japie Mepomeme, will only be eligible for release in August 2015. The man appeared briefly in court on two counts of abduction and two of rape.
It is the State’s case that the man abducted the children from a wendy house where they were sleeping, took them to a nearby vineyard and raped them. The boy managed to find his way home, carrying the baby girl, and he told his parents of their ordeal.
The girl was admitted to Red Cross Children’s Hospital where she had reconstructive surgery. The boy was released into his mother’s care.
Provincial police commissioner Arno Lamoer said top detectives, tactical response teams, dog units and the Family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit were working on the case.
Ntabazalila said a forensic psychiatrist working with the boy notified the prosecution that he was too traumatised to participate in an identity parade.
The case has been postponed for further investigation including outstanding DNA results and an identity parade, Ntabazalila said.
The man is due back in court on October 9.
Cape Argus