“I never, ever thought that this would happen to me.”
AS ONE of Kimberley’s latest elderly victims of rape, a 72-year-old woman is still trying to recover after she was left traumatised and in pain following her rape ordeal.
She was raped on Monday just a few metres from her home in Roodepan.
Yesterday, the elderly woman revealed how she was lured into the perpetrator’s shack when he offered her a glass of wine.
A 58-year-old suspect was arrested on the same day and is expected to appear in court soon.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Mohale Ramatseba confirmed that a 58-year-old man from Roodepan was arrested by Galeshewe Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit members in connection with the rape of the 72-year-old woman.
When the DFA arrived at the victim’s home yesterday, the softly-spoken woman was clearly having difficulty walking and shuffled slowly into her living room.
She slowly sat down on a sofa, moaning as she struggled to find a comfortable position to sit in.
Retelling her ordeal, the woman said in little more than a whisper that she had gone for a walk around the block as she was bored.
“He (the suspect) called me to come share a glass of wine with him at his shack, which is just around the corner,” she said.
According to her, she trusted the suspect as she saw him as a friend, thus she accepted his offer, not suspecting that she would soon become a victim.
She stated that the ordeal has left her too scared to even leave her yard.
“I never, ever thought that this would happen to me.”
The woman added that she has lived in Roodepan all her life but has never feared for her life like she does now.
She started undergoing counselling at the Thuthuzela Care Centre in Galeshewe yesterday.
“I hope to never see him again.”
