5-year-old boy raped in school by 9-year-old seniors who took turns assaulting him and told him 'you'll be our dog'
A five-year-old boy was allegedly raped by four of his nine-year-old seniors who reportedly took turns sexually assaulting him at a school in South Africa.
The youngster was about to leave school when he was cornered in a classroom with one of the attackers allegedly telling him, "You'll be my dog", the victim's mother has claimed.
The embattled parent grew suspicious when she realized her son had not returned home from Fakukhanya Primary School in Ekurhuleni, near Johannesburg, for hours after his usual time.
Speaking to South African newspaper Sowetan, the mother revealed that her son told her what happened when he eventually returned home.
The four older boys reportedly pushed him into a classroom before undressing him and taking turns raping him, according to the victim's account. The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claimed that one of the attackers told him in Zulu that "you'll be my [female] dog".
The victim became "violent among other kids" following the alleged attack, his mother said, and refused to go to school the next week.
"I took him to the local clinic and even though they said there was not much damage, I am still very worried about my son’s state of health," she said.
The 29-year-old mother also said that she was forced to take the case to the police directly after school authorities rebuffed her. When she approached school authorities, they allegedly told her they could not open a case into the incident.
In South Africa, children younger than 10 — which is the legal age of criminal responsibility in the country — cannot be prosecuted or convicted of crimes.
The African nation has made headlines in recent weeks for a series of disturbing sex crimes, most of them perpetrated against women, which sparked several protests from civilians.
Among the horrific crimes, one was that of a 14-year-old girl raped at her grandmother's residence earlier this month before being murdered with a brick. Family members of Janika Mallo said they found her body with her head bashed in and "her brain leaking" with conspicuous signs of sexual assault.
Another shocking case that came to light was that of a 13-year-old boy with Down syndrome who was reportedly raped by a staff member at a special needs school.