A community in crisis: rising cases of child sexual assault in Chatsworth

SINCE the beginning of March, 40 sexual assault and rape cases involving children between the ages of 1 and 12 years old, were reported to the Child Welfare Chatsworth.

- YOSHINI PERUMAL

Prenashen Pillay, director of Child Welfare Chatsworth, said for the first quarter (January to March), there were 42 allegations of rape and 24 confirmed cases of sexual crimes against children in Chatsworth.

"These statistics only reflect the cases which were reported. Last Monday and Tuesday, we had three cases of 3-year-old children who came in with medical reports of broken hymens and vaginal trauma. We also dealt with the case of the pastor, who is a convicted sexual offender, who allegedly raped a minor boy," said Pillay.

"We had another case of siblings, aged 4 and 6, who were allegedly raped by their transport provider. He has not been arrested and is still out in the community, providing services to children because the criminal case was thrown out of court.

"The most horrific case was last year, when a 3-year-old was declared dead on arrival at RK Khan Hospital after being raped. Each month, we receive no less than three cases of sexual crimes against children. But recently the numbers have drastically increased," he added.

Pillay said they were also seeing more cases where parents evaded reporting rapes or sexual offences against children to either protect the perpetrator, who is often known within the family, or because the person was providing financial relief to them.

"Some fail to report these cases because they are sympathetic to the perpetrator due to possible mental illness or old age. In other instances, the poor service delivery from the criminal justice system is a deterrent for many.

"This month we dealt with a case where a 3-year-old rape victim was asked in her initial interview by officials if she had enjoyed the abuse," said Pillay.

He said there was also a growing trend by parents of children who had been sexually assaulted of accepting money, groceries and financial support, in a bid to be silenced by the perpetrators.