A Wespark grandmother is in disbelief and battling to come to terms with the alleged sexual assault of her 7-year-old granddaughter.
The grade 1 pupil, who lives with her grandmother, broke her silence about the abuse this past Saturday (February 10). The victim's grandmother, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the minor, noticed the girl walking awkwardly after she had taken a bath.
“She was limping and seemed in pain," the distraught woman said.
Sitting pensively at her home, the grandmother told the Laudium Sun that when she first asked the 7-year-old what had happened, the young girl was reluctant to talk, saying she would get a 'hiding'.
However, after a lot of coaxing, the child confided in her grandmother that her aunty's boyfriend had "been rude with her."
According to the grandmother, she sometimes left the young girl under the supervision of her daughter’s boyfriend, ??? Pillai (first name withheld) when she needed to run some errands. “I trusted him and couldn’t believe what my grandchild was saying. He is my other daughter’s boyfriend. When my grandchild told me what happened, I immediately went to the police station to report the matter. We had to wait there for a few hours before we were attended to. A police officer was assigned to escort my granddaughter to the hospital the following day," the horrified grandmother said.
"I hardly slept that night wishing the morning would come quickly," added the tearful granny.
"The next morning, I called the officer twice before he arrived," she continued. The grandmother explained that the police officer dropped both herself and her granddaughter off at the Pretoria West Hospital and left. Here, the grandmother said, the girl was examined and given medication. According to the hospital reports, no sign of penetration was found but the child was visibly traumatized.
"They just gave her some Panamol. According to the officer a case of sexual assault but not one of rape, was opened," the upset grandmother said.
The Pretoria West SAPS told the Laudium Sun that the case was still under investigation to determine exactly what happened to the 7-year-old.
Resident Vadini Govender (53), said ??? Pillai was a “suspicious character” and confirmed that the grandmother was distraught after discovering that her granddaughter had apparently been molested.