FATHER OF VERBALLY ABUSED BOY, ALLEGEDLY BY STEPFATHER, SAYS HE WANTS JUSTICE FOR HIS SON

Durban - The biological father of a six-year old from Chatsworth who was verbally abused by his stepfather and aunt wants the law to take its course and for the suspects to be arrested for their actions.

This comes after a telephone recording of a stepfather and his sibling surfaced, allegedly abusing the six-year-old via a telephone conversation.

When the Sunday Tribune spoke to the biological father of the victim, Rakesh Maharaj, 37, he said that he wished for the perpetrator to be caught and remain behind bars.

“He will definitely be arrested for what happened. It is better for him at the end of the day because the community is upset about what happened. Anyone who sees him now will do something to him,” he said.

Maharaj said that what had happened was hectic and he had opted to keep his son with him.

Maharaj said he broke up with his baby’s mother a year ago but her never suspected that his son was being abused until the recording was released.

“We used to see each other every two weeks, because of the situation we were in because the mother had a child and stuff but I actually go to the school and see him regularly,” said Maharaj.

He said that his son was fairly good.

“He is good, running around and playing with the other children here. It is a traumatic thing but I am trying to get them not to think about that and keep him all the time,” said Maharaj.

In the 9.25 minute recording, the step-father can be heard using plenty of vulgar language towards the victim.

In between the many vulgar words, he angrily goes on to question the child about leaving his school shoes in the car and emphasises that he does not have a helper to look after him.

The stepfather then goes on to question the child about the time spent inside the toilet. Before he could answer, the perpetrator continued to swear.

“Hey you p***, I am talking to you, before I come there and f*** you up now, answer me. Give me an answer. What the f*** you are doing in the bathroom for your ****hole. Answer me you **ss.” As the child attempted to answer, he was met with more profanity, and the verbal abuse continued. He is further told to slap himself hard continuously, before being instructed to perform exercises as punishment, while referring to himself as an idiot.

The stepfather’s parents and sibling are also heard in the conversation forcing the child to perform the punishment exercise. The biological mother and father are not present during the conversation.

According to Prem Balram, spokesperson for Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA), the 9:25 minute recording was obtained by the officers after a Johannesburg-Gauteng based company NP Knights Search & Rescue called the RUSA Operations Centre on Thursday night, at approximately 22:45, seeking assistance in a case of child abuse believed to be happening in KwaZulu-Natal.

He said that since receiving the recording, the identity of the victim was ascertained.

“Since obtaining this recording, it has been established that the child is six (6) years old, resides in Chatsworth - KZN and is a Grade 1 pupil. Reaction Officers have knowledge of the child’s school and have further received information that similar abuse has been reported to the educators previously and no help was provided to the minor. This information has not been verified.

“The stepfather has been identified (name withheld) as an employee of a local trucking company and the step aunt that is encouraging the abuse has also been identified. Residential addresses have also been located,” he said.

An update provided by the defence company indicated that the victim had since been removed by his biological mother from the stepfather and step aunt’s residence, and had also ended her relationship with the abusive stepfather.

“RUSA Officers have been in contact with several specialised units and shared information regarding this case of child abuse.

“Several organisations from throughout South Africa have made contact with Reaction Unit South Africa offering support for the abused child,” said Balram.

He said that a criminal case was being investigated and that the stepfather had since gone into hiding.

He added that social workers from Chatsworth, KZN, had removed the child from the biological mother’s custody and that the child was examined by doctors.

SUNDAY TRIBUNE

2023-01-28T15:22:17Z dg43tfdfdgfd