Deputy Minister of Police, Polly Boshielo, has condemned as a “heinous crime” the alleged statutory rape and subsequent impregnation of a 13-year-old child in Limpopo.
The Deputy Minister was in the Seshego Magistrate’s Court on Monday where 28-year-old Ditebogo Gololo, appeared on charges related to the incident.
Gololo is facing a charge of sexually grooming a minor and statutory rape.
“I hope this heinous crime does not happen again. The scourge of teenage pregnancy is very bad in this country. For the financial year under review, 2023/2024, a total of 29 150 gender-based violence and femicide perpetrators were arrested.
“Out of them, 556 accused were handed down life sentences, 480 sentenced between 10 and 20 years, and 998 sentenced between 1 and 9 years. In Limpopo, there has been a challenge of rape cases involving children, especially in the Seshego and Matlala policing areas.
“I have instructed SAPS in the province to implement a programme to address these social issues,” Boshielo said.
In a statement, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said Gololo allegedly groomed the child after meeting at a mall in January this year, “until they became intimate in May 2024”.
“The minor only revealed the incident to her aunt after experiencing complications, and later in November 2024, medical tests confirmed she was eight months pregnant, thus ultimately giving birth to a baby boy on Christmas Day,” the NPA said.
Gololo was arrested a day after the child gave birth.
“The docket will be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions for directives. The matter is postponed for bail application and further investigations to 08 January 2025, at Seshego Magistrate's Court. Gololo is remanded in custody,” the statement concluded. – SAnews.gov.za
