Durban — The Pinetown Magistrate’s Court will finally hear from the 42-year-old man charged with the alleged rape of his former lover’s 10-year-old granddaughter, when he takes the stand.
This emerged in court on Monday when the man appeared before Magistrate Siphiwe Hlophe and the matter was set down for trial over two days in October.
“At this stage, we will be calling two witnesses, including the accused. The other witness will be an expert, the doctor,” said the man’s lawyer, Manoj Harripersad.
He assured the court there would not be any challenges during the trial when it came to financial arrangements between himself and his client.
Harripersad also indicated that his client would be making no admissions and in fact, he would be challenging the findings of State documents in the evidence of the case.
The State indicated that it had four witnesses to call and that three dates would be sufficient to finalise the trial.
Speaking outside court, the little girl’s mother said she was happy the trial would finally get under way.
“Preparing my child will be difficult for us because now we have to be strong for her and let her know that no matter what she says or how she reacts, nothing will be held against her because all this is not her fault … She just needs to speak and we need to be there for her.”
The mother said the worst part about coming to court was having to see the accused.
“I break down more just looking at him than about the case. And now I have to go and prepare my child to come and look at him after she hasn’t seen him since the incident happened. It is emotionally draining.”
She said her daughter was trying her best to cope: “She has her days where she doesn’t want to talk and she will keep to herself. We don’t put pressure on her. We allow her to grieve or go through the pain in her own way, so when she doesn’t want to talk we leave her be and when she does speak we encourage and support her.”
It is said that the family came to know about the abuse after the child’s grandmother walked into the bedroom to allegedly find her lover on top of her.
The accused was arrested last September after the matter was reported to police. It is alleged that the victim was raped repeatedly by the accused.
He is currently out on R4 000 bail on condition that he relocate and have no contact with the victim or her family.
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Daily News