The Mother Of The 3-Year-Old Boy Thought That The Abuse Of Her Ex-Boyfriend Was Normal. The mother told her about the assault that she endured as a child.
Lizette Botes, a social worker, said that calling the actions that lead to the death of a 3-year-old baby abuse would be sterilising the actions. Botes said that what happened to the little boy gave the step father pleasure. This was read in a report to the South Gauteng High Court on Tuesday.
Botes counselled the baby’s mother and gave the report to both the prosecution and defence lawyers. The mother told her about the assault that she endured as a child. The social worker carried on saying that the mother’s childhood assault had a part in the mother allowing the father to constantly assault her and the baby.
The 29-year-old mother was charged with double counts of abandoning the child. The abandonment was linked to the death of her child. The mother’s ex was arrested for the murder of the 3-year-old boy.
Paramedics found the body of the baby boy at the family’s house in Naturena by June 15. The paramedics found burn damages on the child’s body. The child was plunged in boiling water. His head and chest were damaged, with his arms also hurt. The mother of the child told Botes that she had a dispute with her ex the day before the child was killed.
The mother told Cloete that the 3-year-old’s eyes were disoriented. When she questioned the ex-boyfriend about what happened to the child he said that he messed up for good. The following day, the baby’s lips were discoloured. She attempted saving him using CPR to no avail. The paramedics concluded that the child’s brain was not responsive.
The baby’s mother told Botes about all the incidents of abuse that the family received from the mother’s ex-boyfriend. Botes says that the mother now understands her acts and now shows guilt. The social worker said that the mother should go to prison so that she can recover from her own assault as a child.
by Alexandra Ramaite
