Seven young boys, aged between 10 and 13, have allegedly been raped at gunpoint after being ‘drugged’ by a 16-year-old boy in an ‘unspeakable’ attack in South Africa
A 16-year-old schoolboy allegedly drugged seven fellow pupils in South Africa then led them out the gates to a waiting man who raped all the young friends at gunpoint. The shocking incident in Johannesburg has rocked the country where the victims aged between 10 and 13 were left severely traumatised by their brutal ordeal.
The horrific multiple sex attacks shocked even hardened detectives in the crime ridden country where 76 people are murdered every day and 125 women raped.
South African Police confirmed a 31-year-old man was arrested for rape and the Gauteng Education Department said a 16-year-old pupil has been suspended.
Education chief Mr Matome Chiloane described what happened to the pupils at the Khomanani Primary School in Diepkloof, Soweto, on September 1 as “unspeakable”.
Dept spokesman Steve Mabona said: “Preliminary reports indicate the instigating Grade 7 boy learner allegedly stole a bottle of cold drink from a local shop.
“It is then alleged that the learner drugged the drink and gave it to seven boy learners to consume then took them to an adult who raped them at gunpoint.
“The adult perpetrator has since been arrested after a parent of one of the boys reported it and police are investigating further details about this incident.”
Mr Mabona said the school suspended the Grade 7 boy accused of orchestrating the mass rapes and said that he would face a disciplinary hearing on September 17.
Shockingly, however, both the Education Department and the South African Police confirmed that the teenager had not been arrested for his part in the crimes.
A police spokesman said: “Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences detectives are investigating a case where allegedly seven boys have been raped.
“The boys are aged between 10 and 13 and were allegedly raped by a 31-year-old man who was arrested on September 6 but has not yet appeared before court.
“After consultation with the National Police Authority he was released from custody pending further investigations in consultation with police forensic social workers.
“We will not share details of the case.”
Psychosocial experts are helping the traumatised schoolboys and the Teddy Bear Clinic which supports sexually abused children has been brought in to assist them.
Education chief Mr Chiloane added: “Such an unspeakable act should never happen to any learner and we sympathise dearly with the affected learners and families.
“This incident is a reminder of the importance of our collective duty to ensure the safety of children in and outside of school and we are providing our full support.”
Neither the South African Police nor the Education Department would explain why the 16-year-old boy who allegedly drugged and led the victims to the rapist was not arrested.
Nor would they explain at what stage of the school day the seven boys were seemingly drugged with the spiked cold drink or where the suspended teenager took the victims.
They would only confirm seven boys alleged they were drugged and were subsequently raped in turn by an adult male who had a gun and had threatened to shoot them.
Facebook was alive with angry parents demanding the Grade 7 schoolboy should be arrested, with Lucky Maimela saying: “He is as guilty as the man who raped them.”
But Sube Magaogoa said the teenager was probably threatened by the rapist saying: “It must be the adult who had coerced a child into doing such a heinous crime.”
Many others called for mob justice with one John Prince saying: “Rapists harm innocent people and this perpetrator should be exposed and burned to death.”
South Africa has a huge child rape crisis with a Parliamentary question revealing that between 2018 and 2024 there were 106,000 child rape cases reported to police.
Abuse experts believe that with unreported cases the figure would be far higher. In the year 2022/3 it was said that the 38.3% of offences carried out on children were rape.
Support group Solidarity Helping Hand said in an annual report that about 60 cases of child rape are reported in South Africa every day but estimate 88% more go unreported.
They said that means according to their figures 530 children are raped every day – one rape every three minutes – and with a severe shortage of social workers to help them.
Childcare South Africa works with more than two million children and their families every day with the average social worker having to handle some 200 cases with the accepted norm of 60.
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