A Delft boy who went missing on Tuesday was found in Athlone on Wednesday morning – after being raped.
The 12-year-old was reported missing on Tuesday evening after his mom arrived at their Suburban home and he wasn’t there.
She last him at 6am when she left for work and he was home alone, sleeping.
The heartbroken mom says: “My son went missing (Tuesday) from our home in the morning.
“And then he was found in Athlone around 3am, he had been raped.
“He was found in the bush. He came with the police to Delft.”
When mother and child were reunited, the boy explained that he had left home to go to his father in Mfuleni.
“I noticed that some of his clothes were missing also, he packed his clothes because he missed father,” she says.
“On the way to the Mfuleni, he met two guys who took him and he was then raped.
“And then he was dumped there in some bush, sleeping.”
She says he was spotted by security guards.
“They took him to the police station, they asked his name and where he is from and he told them he is from Delft and then he was returned home.
“I went to the hospital with him for medical examinations.
“My son is badly damaged, we spent the whole day with the doctors.”
A neighbour who asked not to be named, says initially a tenant who shares a yard with the boy’s family was accused.
“The tenant who stays in the same yard was blamed for the boy’s disappearance and was even questioned by the police,” he explains
“But the boy cleared things up and said when the garage door was open, he sneaked out.
“Angry community members took away his plasma TV and wanted to burn down the house, even though the mother and the child live in the same house.”
Police spokesman Colonel André Traut confirmed the missing boy was found in Athlone.
“The circumstances surrounding his disappearance and the possibility that he was sexually assaulted are currently being investigated.”
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za