/ 5 March 2002

Two men arrested for rape of one-month-old baby

Durban | Tuesday

TWO men, one of them aged 74, were arrested this week following the rape of a one-month-old baby on a farm at Port Shepstone, police representative Superintendent Zandra Hechter said on Tuesday.

The two men are expected to appear in the Port Shepstone Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

Hechter said the baby girl was left in the care of a day mother and her sister on Saturday while the mother went to work.

The women were allegedly drinking with the two men, aged 74 and 26, when the rape occurred.

The mother alerted police to the rape after she returned home at 4pm and found blood on the baby’s nappy.

An examination by a doctor showed that the baby’s private parts were badly torn and bruised and she had a severe rash between her legs.

Hechter said one of the men was arrested on Sunday and the second was arrested on Monday. The 36-year-old day mother was charged with child neglect.

The child is currently in her mother’s care.

It is the second incident in KwaZulu-Natal reported in the past two weeks involving the rape of children left in the care of day mothers.

Last week Newcastle police reported that they were investigating a case where a 15-year-old youth allegedly raped four pre-primary school girls, aged between four and six, over a period of time.

Two of the girls were left in the care of his mother and the other two lived next door. – Sapa

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