The Phuthaditjhaba and Bethlehem Family, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) units, together with other police units, successfully cracked the case of a child who was missing for more than a week. The ex-lover of the child’s mother was arrested for kidnapping and sexual abuse.
The missing six-year-old girl from Slovo Park near Phuthaditjhaba was reported missing on Saturday, 11 November, at about 18:00. She had last been seen by her parents in the company of the mother’s former lover. After the mother returned home from doing some chores, the child was nowhere to be seen. Her husband did not know the child’s whereabouts either.
They suspected that the ex-lover had taken her.
On Thursday, 16 November, the police received information about the suspect and the police interrogated him on the whereabouts of the child. His arrest led police to a secluded place in a bushy area where he had left the child. It was discovered that she had been sexually abused.
The 29-year-old suspect was expected to appear before the Phuthaditjhaba Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
