Action Society will be conducting oversight in the case of a 9-year-old girl who was reportedly raped by 51-year-old parolee in Hanover Park earlier this week. This case underscores the reality of parolees who reoffend after they are released from prison. It also highlights the need to make the National Register for Sexual Offenders (NRSO) public to keep the children in our communities safe. Members of the Hanover Park community gathered outside the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court (where the accused is scheduled to appear on Friday) to express their anger and frustration.
According to local news reports, the young girl went missing on Tuesday, 13 May, after making her way to her school at the mosque. She was approached by the man who gave her R20 to buy milk and bring it to his house. The community grew extremely concerned and launched a large search operation where she was eventually found in the man’s house not too far from where she went missing on Johnvlei Road. According to the family, she spent more than five hours in the man’s house
“The community was outraged when they heard what happened to this girl and we will stand by them. We have a serious problem in this country with parolees being released back into communities only to victimise more women and children. Furthermore, we at Action Society firmly believe that situations like this can be prevented in the future if we make the National Register for Sexual Offenders public – if we know the people living in our midst we can be more vigilant and protect our loved ones,” said Action Society spokesperson, Kaylynnn Palm.
