Durban - THE family of the 51-year-old woman and her 6-year-old granddaughter who were allegedly raped in their Chesterville home, say they believe justice will be served.
The 30-year-old man facing charges for their rape appeared in the Durban
Magistrate’s Court for the second time this week.
National Prosecuting Authority provincial spokesperson Natasha Kara said the matter was adjourned until next week for the man to instruct his legal representative.
He appeared briefly in court earlier this week and the matter was adjourned until yesterday for him to get legal representation.
A relative of the two victims was in court yesterday and on Tuesday, and said court proceedings thus far were an indication to him that the matter would be wrapped up soon.
He said the accused allegedly told the court he wanted to represent himself, that he had committed the crimes and was not interested in a bail application.
“If he says he will be pleading guilty and wants no bail, this means things will be easier on my relatives. They can have time to heal properly and deal with the trauma of what happened without having to deal with the added strain of a trial. This means there won’t be a long trial that will require them to testify,” he said.
The relative said both victims were doing well with the little girl starting to play.
“She’s not 100%, because something like this happened, but she will heal,” he said.
He said when he heard the magistrate explain the seriousness of the crime to the accused, he knew they would get justice.
“He was told that rape on a child was a serious crime for which he could possibly be sentenced to life. He was told he could be looking at two life terms possibly for the two charges, due to their seriousness. As a family, so far we are seeing justice being served, we will get justice.”
It is alleged that on Sunday morning, the 30-year-old raped the two victims. A 12-year-old in the house managed to escape through a window and went for help. The man allegedly fled the area and was found with the help of social media.