M0lested and s.e.xually assaulted boy awaiting justice for 7 years

There has been no closure or justice for a boy who was allegedly sexually assaulted and molested by a family friend seven years ago.

The family of the now 15-year-old boy has been in emotional turmoil since the assaults, with court proceedings having been ongoing since 2017.

The family were in the Blue Down Magistrates Court in Cape Town on Thursday, only to have the matter postponed until March next year.

Reason for delays

The boy’s mother is now at her wit’s end because of the numerous postponements, citing various reasons for the delay, from equipment being broken to someone being ill and load shedding.

“Mostly it was due to faulty equipment and then my child being too traumatized to proceed with cross-examination. I have written numerous letters to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and complained directly to the court. Nothing is being done. So for seven years, no healing has taken place.”

NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila told the publication the case had been postponed 46 times and the majority of the postponements were due to the complainant being either tired, restless, crying or emotional.

“It was postponed three times due to the prosecutor being ill and seven times on the unavailability of the magistrate,” he said.

Speaking to the publication, attorney Richard Chemaly said cases can take longer for a variety of reasons; prosecutors seeking more evidence, availability of witnesses or even a cumbersome caseload on the prosecutor or investigating officer.

“Sometimes, often when an investigator retires or otherwise leaves their job, the file must be handed over and the new person in charge might have a different approach. It’s far from ideal to have such a delay in justice. It would also be upsetting if one being an unwinnable case forward,” Chemaly said.

“Fortunately, unlike other justifications, there’s no legal time limit to bring a criminal case to court. Naturally one would want to do it as soon as possible to have the freshest available evidence but in many cases, and with strained resources, delays are inevitable.”

A head

The whole ordeal started in March 2017 when the young boy told his mother he’d been being touched inappropriately.

“After finding out, it became clear that he (the accused) had been touching (the boy) from the age of five, and sexually assaulted him at age seven. We have had to move away from the area because he (the perpetrator) still lives in that area.

“All malls and shops were a constant reminder of the hell my son went through for two years. He molested him wherever he got a gap,” the mother told the publication.

The family made several visits to the Rape Unit at Karl Bremer for help.

The boy has also seen several forensic investigators and has to relive their ordeal due to this process and many appearances in court.

“My child had several suicide attempts and was in a psychiatric hospital. He has also been cutting himself. He is failing at school due to all the trauma and constant postponements of court. He is struggling as he is now a teenager and now understands what happened to him.”

Having relocated, the family has to drive 1000km each time for court, and most of the time they are told it’s postponed.

“I have to remove him and his special needs brother from school each time we are summonsed to go to Cape Town for court. He lost school days even after I repeatedly requested to not have a trial during school terms and rather during holidays. The cross-examination is also very hard on him, hence the postponement when the questions get too hard and hurt my son immensely.”

The boy sees a psychiatrist every three months and is undergoing treatment for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“He is on chronic depression medication and meds to sleep, as the nightmares are severe.”

I am also on depression meds and a lot of medication to help me sleep. Our lives have completely changed. It is a constant traumatic thing to deal with,” said the mother.

Gender-based violence activist Reverend June Dolley Major told the publication all these postponements, are an injustice to the boy.

“It is unacceptable that the court case has been running for so many years. It needs to be prioritized, he needs to be prioritized,” said the reverend.

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