/ 4 November 1999

Child rapists in court

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thusday 5.15pm.

FOUR boys accused of indecently assaulting a two-year-old Orlando West girl at the weekend appeared in the Protea Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

Soweto police spokesman Govindsamy Mariemuthoo said the boys, the youngest aged seven, were charged with indecent assault.

They were remanded in custody and will be placed in a juvenile place of safety until their next appearance on November 18.

The boys were arrested on Wednesday after allegedly sexually abusing a toddler in the backyard of a house in Orlando West on Saturday.

The youngest boy is aged seven, two are aged eight and the eldest is 10.

The Soweto child protection unit earlier said this is the first case the unit has investigated involving such young children.

The Soweto child protection unit on Wednesday said it will be difficult to convict the four boys because they are under the age of 14.

Children under the age of seven cannot be convicted for rape because it is considered medically impossible.

The child protection unit said it is up to the courts to conduct an investigation to see if the children are capable of understanding the consequences of their actions.