Teenager faces abortion charges
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Wednesday June 10, 2020 16:56
Confirming the incident, Letlhakane Station Commander Michael Maphephu said that last week they arrested a 19-year–old young man in connection with defilement after he allegedly assisted his teenage girlfriend to terminate pregnancy.
He said that prior to the young man’s arrest, his office received a report from Letlhakane primary hospital starting that a teenage girl was brought in by her parents and she was suspected to have terminated her pregnancy.
He also said that the teenage girl arrived at the hospital bleeding profusely and experiencing abnormal stomach pains.
According to the police boss, the girl later confirmed to have swallowed abortion pills to terminate the pregnancy.
Maphephu further said that during interrogation the teenage girl told them that she was pregnant and his boyfriend convinced her to purchase ‘abortion pills’ in order to terminate the pregnancy.
He further said that investigations led to a 25-year-old Motswana woman based in here (Francistown) who allegedly sold abortion pills to the young couple.
Police investigations in the role played by the alleged elderly woman who aided the teenage couple to obtain abortion pills are continuing.
The police investigations were boosted by the recovery of “eight pills” suspected to be abortion pills found in the woman’s dwelling house.
The discovery follows the police’s thorough search of the woman’s house in Francistown.
Maphephu said the teenage girl is still recovering from the hospital while the 19-year-old young man is facing defilement charges and is further remanded in custody.
On another matter, Maphephu said that during the same week they received three reports of pregnant schoolgirls aged between 16 and 18 years from social workers in Letlhakane village.
He said that the girls reported back to their schools pregnant when schools re-opened after Covid-19 lockdown and the matter was referred to the local social work office.
Maphephu said that all the defiled girls are still reluctant to reveal the people who impregnated them.
He added: “These secondary school teenage girls are very tricky and cunning and they don’t want to tell us who impregnated them'.
He suspected that, “the parents of the pregnant young girls are hiding vital information, which could assist us in arresting the wrongdoers'.
“We have a feeling that the parents might be protecting the culprits for their own personal agendas, but that won’t stop us from getting to the bottom of this matter and let justice be served.”
Maphephu urged parents to take good care of their children and stop being ignorant of serious matters such as defilement.