A 40-year-old man has been granted bail in the Hermanus Magistrate’s Court in the Western Cape after he was charged with raping and grooming a 12-year-old girl.
The 40-year-old suspect confessed to grooming the girl in 2021 and is alleged to have raped her in July 2022. The court granted the man R10 000 bail, despite the State prosecutor giving enough reasons for him not to be released on bail.
According to Eric Ntabazalila, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson in the Western Cape said the man made some admissions to the crimes levelled against him.
“He confessed to having sexual intercourse with the girl because he thought she was older than 16 years old. He never confessed to rape. He also indicated he had three other girlfriends- two in Grabouw and another one in Hermanus, but both were older,” Ntabazalila.
The court heard that the man started grooming the girl through social media while she was still 11 years old. The suspect confessed to contact with the girl physically but said he did not have sex with her at the time.
After bail was granted, Ntabazalila said the accused was given strict bail conditions. “The bail had strict conditions attached to it, which includes the accused to not be in contact with the complainant directly or indirectly, amongst others,” Ntabazalila said.
The case has been postponed to 13 October for further investigation.
Source: Eyewitness News, IOL, The Voice of Cape Town FM, image from Eyewitness News: SAPS