Child-protection groups alarmed by alleged police rapes - IOL

Lobby groups are concern about the number of police officers who are arrested for sexually molesting women, including underage girls.

Children are among the victims of more than 200 sexual assault cases of sexual committed by off- and on-duty police officers in various parts of the country, which were reported to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) between the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 financial years.

The figures relate to those two financial years and do not include a separate case involving a 15-year-old girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a police officer in Durban earlier this month.

The Durban case falls within the 2026/2027 financial year.

The Teddy Bear Foundation for Abused Children (TTBC) and Childline have expressed concern about the number of police officers who, instead of being protectors, have turned into predators targeting children.  

IPID spokesperson Lizzy Suping said 96 cases of rape which involve police officials were on the court rolls as at March 30.

She said IPID is in the process of taking over the investigation against a 46-year-old police sergeant who allegedly raped two underage girls in a house in Inanda, north of Durban, on September 3. 

The alleged rape was reported to the police, and the sergeant was arrested and appeared at the Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court on September 9.

The two minor girls were reported missing at Mthunzi Police Station on August 27 after leaving their homes in Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal north coast.  

Suping said the case was reported to IPID on Thursday.

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the accused took two girls to his house in Inanda where he sexually assaulted the 15-year-old after finding them stranded in the Durban CBD.

“It is alleged that on 3 September 2026, the victim and her friend met with the suspect in Durban, and he offered them a place to stay since they were stranded.

“Whilst at his place of residence in the Amatikwe area (Inanda), the suspect allegedly started touching the victim.  

“The matter was reported to the police and the suspect was arrested,” he said.

Netshiunda confirmed the accused was arrested by Inanda Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit detectives. 

Suping said: “The IPID intake for rape in 2024/25: IPID registered 98 cases; 51 acts of rape were committed while the officer was on duty, while 44 cases were off duty. 

“In 2025/26, IPID registered 116 rape cases, and 72 acts of rape were when officers were on duty and 44 off duty. 

“The sentences for rape ranged from about 8 years to 25 years and more.” 

TTBC director Dr Shaheda Omar said a rape committed by a police officer is serious, but worse when victims are children. 

“The concern is magnified because of the extreme imbalance of power, authority and trust. 

“The protector becomes a predator,” she said. 

She said that, according to the IPID report, Gauteng had the highest number of these offences, which were five, in the first quarter of 2025/26.

“These figures must be interpreted carefully: they refer to rape allegedly committed by police officers and do not mean that all of the victims were children.

“Nevertheless, they are deeply concerning because every one of those cases represents a potential abuse of police authority and public trust,” said Omar.

However, she called on society not to paint all officers with the same brush, and children must still feel safe approaching the police for help.

In a significant victory for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) during the previous financial year, they secured a 20-year sentence against former police sergeant Thembalethu Gqeku of the Kei Mouth Police Station in the Great Kei Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape during May 2025.

Gqeku was convicted of raping a 17-year-old woman inside the police station on August 8, 2022. 

The trial suffered some setbacks, leading to charges against Gqeku being withdrawn after the victim had struggled to explain how the rape occurred during consultation with the prosecution due to trauma. 

“She had to undergo psychological and clinical therapy before the matter could be re-enrolled,” said NPA Eastern Cape spokesperson Luxolo Tyali had said.

Detailing the circumstances of the successful conviction, Tyali said Gqeku, who was investigating a domestic violence case involving the victim and her ex-boyfriend, took her to his office under the pretence that he was to take an additional statement.

However, in the office, Gqeku closed the door and proceeded to rape her. 

The young woman managed to fight back, injured him on the head using an empty bottle, and ran to the charge office screaming.

She identified the alleged perpetrator but, regrettably, his on-duty colleagues, including the then-acting station commander, failed to effect an arrest.  

“He was only arrested ten days later by the IPID,” said Tyali. 

Meanwhile in the Western Cape, Constable Jerome Coetzee was convicted by the Wynberg Regional Court in 2024, more than six years after being found guilty of raping an 18-year-old in the back of a police van.

According to the IPID, Coetzee committed the crime in 2018 while working for the Lwandle Crime Prevention Unit.

On July 4, 2018, Coetzee, 38, and two other police officers went to search the complainant’s house for drugs that evening. 

They later informed the victim that they had found drugs in the house and arrested her.

He dropped his colleagues off at the police station while the complainant was still at the back of the bakkie and drove to a secluded area where he raped the complainant, who was six weeks pregnant at the time.

KwaZulu-Natal Childline director Adeshini Naicker said the number of offences shared by IPID were concerning, particularly as perpetrators are police officers entrusted with protecting vulnerable members of society.

“Sexual violence against children remains a serious concern, irrespective of who the perpetrator may be. 

“Every child has the right to feel safe when seeking help from those entrusted with protecting them. Allegations involving an abuse of that trust must therefore be treated with the seriousness they deserve,” she said.