North Rand police on Thursday arrested a 49-year-old pastor and his wife after three malnourished foster children were found in their Watville home, police said.
”This is one of the worst cases of abuse we have come across in a long time,” police spokesperson Superintendent Eugene Opperman said.
Responding to a tip-off, police found a five-year-old boy locked up in a 2m by 4m storeroom, sitting in his own excrement.
Police are investigating the possibility that the couple had the children in their care in order to obtain social grants, Opperman said.
”Two malnourished girls, aged two and three, sat there on baby chairs in the kitchen. They were quiet and scared.”
The children had been there since April.
The two girls were taken to a place of shelter, while the boy was taken to hospital for a check-up.
The man and his 46-year-old wife were arrested and charged with attempted murder and child neglect.
They will appear in the Benoni Magistrate’s Court on Thursday or Friday. — Sapa