Rapists on the rampage in Letlhakane

Lindiwe Mozola | Thursday February 25, 2016 17:02

Maphephu said since the beginning of the year they have recorded nine rape cases in which most of them occurred at drinking spots.

“Rape is growing at an alarming rate in this area and what bothers us the most is that victims are raped by people they know, among them their family members. Alcohol abuse also plays a major role in the rapes because victims were raped after drinking sprees,” he said.

The police boss also noted that neglecting children by parents was also a worrisome development because the culprits always take advantage of their absenteeism to rape the children.

He said parents have responsibilities to their children and that is to take care of them and protect them. However, some parents choose to live the lives of night crawlers leaving their under aged children exposed to the rapists.

“Such is a disgrace because a parent should be the protector. Fun times have taken over their duties, as a parent one is duty bound to take care of a child and make sure that they are not exposed to harm,” he added.

Meanwhile, Maphephu said they are investigating a case in which a 21-year-old man raped a 10-year-old girl at Mmeya settlement.

Apparently, the girl was left behind together with her eight-year-old cousin by their grandmother while she went to the nearby shebeen around eight in the evening. The perpetrator then came into the house around that time and raped the girl. Maphephu said the man is currently in their custody and will appear in court soon. In a different matter, the station commander said that they are investigating a case in which Vaimgo Community Trust in Letlhakane was broken into and goods worth P26,800.88 were stolen.

He said the suspects who are still at large opened the roof of the building to make a way inside and stole a computer, laptop and other accessories.

He said it appears the suspects were using a car during the act and according to the night watchmen, they cut the electricity making it hard for them to see what was happening.

“We are still looking for the culprits although it’s proving difficult since the watchmen cannot identify them, neither the car they were using,” said Maphephu.