Durban - The biological father of a 6- year- old boy from Chatsworth who was verbally abused by his stepfather and aunt, wants the law to take its course and for the suspects to be arrested for their actions.
This comes after a telephone recording of a stepfather and his sibling surfaced, abusing the Grade 1 boy in a telephone conversation.
Speaking to the Sunday Tribune, the boy’s 37- year-old biological father, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the boy, said that he wished for the perpetrator to be caught and jailed.
“He will definitely be arrested for what happened. It is better for him at the end of the day because the community is upset about what happened. Anyone who sees him now, will do something to him,” he said.
He said what had happened was unacceptable and that going forward he would be keeping his son with him.
The boy’s biological father said he had broke up with the boy’s mother a year ago and was not aware that his son was being abused until the recording surfaced.
“We used to see each other every two weeks, because of the situation between his mother and I. I visit him regularly at his school,” he said.
He said that his son was generally a good boy and well -behaved.
“Since he came to me on Friday, he appeared to be okay, running around and playing with the other children here. What happened to him is really traumatic, but I am trying to distract him what happened,” he said.
In the 9.25 minute recording which has gone viral, the step-father is heard using vulgar language on the boy, while the child profusely apologises for his actions.
In between the many profanities, the suspect angrily questions the child about leaving his school shoes in the car and emphasises that he does not have a helper to look after him.
The stepfather then goes on to question the child about the time spent in the toilet.
As the child attempted to answer, he was met with more profanity, and the verbal abuse continued. He is further told to slap himself hard continuously, before being instructed to perform exercises as punishment, while referring to himself as an idiot.
The stepfather’s parents and sibling are also heard in the conversation forcing the child to perform the punishment exercise.
Prem Balram, Head of Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA), had raised the alarm about the abuse when he received the recording.
Balram said the recording was obtained by the officers after a Johannesburg-Gauteng based company NP Knights Search & Rescue called the RUSA Operations Centre on Thursday night, at approximately 22:45, seeking assistance in a case of child abuse believed to be happening in KwaZulu-Natal.
He said that since receiving the recording, the identity of the victim was ascertained.
“It was then established that the 6- year- old, resides in Chatsworth and is a Grade 1 pupil. Reaction officers have knowledge of the child’s school and have further received information that similar abuse had been reported to the educators previously and no help was provided to the minor. However, this information has not been verified.
“The stepfather was identified as an employee of a local trucking company and the step aunt that is encouraging the abuse has also been identified. Residential addresses have also been located,” he said.
Balram had alerted the authorities and the boy was reunited with his biological father.
“RUSA officers have been in contact with several specialised units and shared information regarding this case of child abuse.
“Several organisations from throughout South Africa have made contact with Reaction Unit South Africa offering support for the abused child,” said Balram.
He said that a criminal case was being investigated and that the stepfather had since gone into hiding.
He added that social workers from Chatsworth, had removed the child from the biological mother’s custody and that the child was examined by doctors.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE