IPID puts forensic officer behind bars for raping 6-year-old boy

Cape Town: The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) has arrested a police officer from the Plattekloof Department for the rape of a six-year-old boy.

According to reports, the incident occurred on “Youth Day”, June 16, 2024, and the police officer was put behind bars on Thursday, June 20, 2024.

According to the reports received, the officer works in the forensic laboratory. He received the boy and his mother in his apartment. During the visit, the man and the child’s mother drank alcohol, after which the mother fell asleep on the couch.

According to the sources, the police officer raped the child while the mother was drunk and sleeping. The boy later confided the incident to a community member, after which the case was reported to IPID.

IPID spokesman Phaladi Shuping confirmed the incident and linked the events to the officer’s subsequent arrest.

The offender subsequently appeared in court before being arrested. The case has now been postponed and the new date is July 1, 2024, to allow time for a formal bail application. However, the officer will remain in custody until then.

In 2023, IPID arrested another police officer in the Western Cape for the alleged rape of a woman in a holding cell. The woman was then arrested in Citrusdal for carrying out the assault and detained in the early hours of the morning.

According to the reports, the police officer allegedly went into the cell and raped her, after which she reported the incident to another police officer who was on duty that morning.

However, the guilty officer was arrested in Piketberg and appeared before the Clanwilliam Magistrates Court for the hearing of the case.

With the number of such incidents increasing, the South African police have now geared up to take stricter action against such crimes. Such cases disrupt the environment and endanger the safety of local residents.