An Alexandra construction worker rescued a nine-year-old girl from the claws of an alleged teenage rapist.
According to him, the girl and her friends were playing at Jukskei Park when the 16-year-old perpetrator abducted her.
Thabo Maeteletja caught the boy who wanted to assault the nine-year-old.
“I was raised to always view an adult as my mother or father, people my age as my sister or brother and children as my own.”
“So, when I was running after this person that’s what was running through my mind,” Maeteletja said.
“How can this person rape or attempt to rape? A small child added to that? I took as though he is attacking my own child. Because this child is young enough to call me her father.”
Other teens joined Maeteletja to catch the perpetrator, who ran and hid inside a classroom at a nearby school.
The community members attacked the teenager before the police intervened.
The girl’s aunt says the incident traumatised her niece, she said she will never play outside again.
“He carried my niece and covered her mouth. She says she tried to fight him but he was too strong.”
“Then he took her down the Jukskei River. His pants were already off when they found him, but luckily he didn’t rape her”.
The teenager is curently in the hospital under police watch.
Gauteng police spokesperson Mathapelo Peters stated that the attack on the suspect was reported.
“Had they called police immediately we could have also prevented. Luckily nothing happened to the little girl although she was injured while running away from the suspect,” Peters said.
