Sexual grooming charges dropped against Limpopo man
The National Prosecuting Authority has dropped charges of sexual grooming against a 28-year-old man accused of impregnating a 13-year-old girl.
The girl, one of 31 teenagers who gave birth on Christmas Day, met Ditebogo Gololo in January 2024 and became intimate in May.
He still faces a charge of statutory rape.
The NPA's Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi says Gololo appeared before the Seshego Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
“The charge has been withdrawn because there isn’t sufficient evidence to support a charge of sexual grooming. So we are left with the charge of statutory rape.
“We are going to wait for the applicant to see if he is going to make the bail application. But for now, he has abandoned his bail application.”
Meanwhile, a KwaZulu-Natal social worker says more education is needed on statutory rape.
It comes amid what health authorities are describing as an alarming rise in teen pregnancies across the country.
On Sunday, KZN police shot dead a rape suspect in Kranskop, who allegedly impregnated his 15-year-old stepdaughter.
Several teens under 16 gave birth on Christmas and New Year’s Day, with the youngest being a 12-year-old girl from the Eastern Cape.
Social worker Andile Nduli says young girls are particularly vulnerable in rural areas and townships.
"In these areas, people do not report rape. They will rather say let us speak to the family and protect the perpetrator. Also, you will find that they will negotiate a pay of damages after an older man has slept with a child or made her his wife."
Nduli has urged medical professionals to create a safe space for young girls.
"We need to have professional people who will be asking a child who is the father so that the child will be able to open up. The reason for that also will be seeing that the child was exploited."
