/ 17 March 2005

North West man guilty of ‘grossly’ abusing children

A North West father charged with sexually abusing and neglecting his sons was found guilty in the Brits Regional Court on Thursday.

Magistrate Louis Matthee found the 45-year-old man from Mooinooi near Pretoria guilty on 18 charges, including indecent assault, contraventions of the Child Care Act and assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm.

The accused cannot be named as this will reveal the identity of the three boys, who are all minors.

He was found to have ”grossly” neglected his three sons and to have forced his children to perform sexual acts on him, his wife and each other.

He was cleared of seven other charges, including attempted murder. He was also found not guilty on all charges relating to crimes against his two-year-old daughter.

The children’s mother claimed her husband once shot at her while she held their daughter in her arms. The three boys testified their father used them for target practice.

But Matthee found the father was a good shot. If the man wanted to shoot his children, he could have easily done so.

He, however, found that the father severely assaulted his children with a sjambok and other objects. The children’s bodies were covered in old and fresh bruises when the police arrested their parents in 2002.

Mother pleads guilty

The 32-year-old mother earlier pleaded guilty to four charges of assault, admitting she hit each of her three sons — aged 10, nine and seven — and her daughter with a butter spat.

She also pleaded guilty on a charge of child abuse. The crimes took place from the year each child was born until 2002, when the parents were arrested.

She was sentenced to three years in jail, suspended for five years under condition that she turn state witness against her husband.

She was also prohibited from seeing her children without permission from a social worker.

An additional sentence of three years of correctional supervision was added.

This included 20 hours of community service per month and house arrest. The R5 000 bail money she had earlier paid was forfeited to the state and used for the maintenance of the children, who are with foster parents.

Good impression

In sentencing the father, Matthee said the children made a good impression on him, although they had never attended school.

One of the boys was very aggressive in giving evidence and he was clearly angry with his father, while another son was terrified when he took the stand, Matthee said.

While he believed the children’s version of events where it corroborated with other evidence, the magistrate rejected the version of the father.

He said the man simply testified that what he was accused had never happened.

The father claimed he was a loving and caring father who took good care of his children. He, however, could not explain the bruises on the children’s bodies.

The man also said there were always an abundance of food in the house.

The children, on the other hand, said they had to eat aloes, berries and mouldy bread to stay alive.

Matthee said this was corroborated by video footage taken during the couple’s arrest. This showed the filthy bedroom which the boys had to stay in, with bits of old bread laying around.

The magistrate found that the father treated his daughter far better than he treated his sons and that she was not physically neglected.

Matthee also found that the father instructed the children to perform sexual acts on him, his wife and on each other.

Sentencing was postponed to May 18 for a pre-sentencing report from a social worker, to be presented by the defence.

The state indicated it intends calling several witnesses in aggravation of sentence, including a psychologist who deals with children. — Sapa