South Africa: HIV-positive father accused of attempted murder for raping son

An HIV-positive father is on trial in the South African capital, Pretoria, for the rape and attempted murder of his ten year-old son, according to a report from the South African Press Agency.

The charge sheet alleges the father had not only sodomised the boy but also attempted to murder him because he knew he was HIV-positive at the time.

The full story, from iol.co.za, is below.

Father accused of raping his own son

Judgement will be delivered on Thursday in the Pretoria High Court trial of a 29-year-old Mamelodi father, who is accused of attempting to murder and rape his own son, the court heard on Wednesday.

The father pleaded not guilty to the charges, claiming he was innocent and had been "framed", but did not testify in his own defence.

His frail-looking son, who is now ten years old, earlier this week testified through an intermediary about his alleged ordeal at his father's hands.

The charge sheet alleges the father had not only sodomised the boy but also attempted to murder him because he knew he was HIV-positive at the time.

He allegedly went to fetch his son after not seeing him for a long time, but then went drinking, taking the child along. He allegedly made several attempts to have intercourse with the boy, but was reprimanded and prevented from doing so by friends.

He however allegedly succeeded in sodomising the little boy later on in the evening.

The child's mother testified that she had taken him to the clinic after realising that he could not sit when she tried to bathe him.

The boy's uncle said he had been woken that night by the sound of someone screaming.

He found the accused being assaulted by his friends and was told that the accused's son alleged he had been raped.

The uncle said he knew that the accused was HIV positive before the incident and had seen the medicine he used.

A childhood friend of the accused on Wednesday testified that the accused had been drinking that night and at one stage said he had an erection and wanted to have sex with his son, which was why he had followed them home later that night.

The friend had intervened when he saw the accused slapping his son, but said he had not seen the accused choking his son as well, as the boy had alleged.

Later that evening, he violently pulled the accused off his son after finding him on top of the boy with his pants down behind an outside toilet.

The child's pants had also been pulled down and he had difficulty walking.

The boy was later taken to the police station.