AfriPulse
Courts are issuing a strong warning on violence against children, with child murder sentencing reflecting firm judicial action. In a separate matter, authorities in Atlantis are prosecuting a mother for allegedly failing to report sexual abuse of her daughter.
Judge delivers 25-year term in child murder sentencing case
Halfway through Child Protection Month, Western Cape courts heard disturbing details in violence and abuse cases against children.
The Western Cape High Court, sitting at the Wynberg Regional Court, handed Noxolo Ngqono 25 years for murdering her son, Novelo.
The Cape Argus reports Noxolo did not testify at trial or explain circumstances of her child’s death. Prosecutors said five-year-old Novelo suffered a fractured skull, spinal injuries, and internal organ damage.
The fatal attack formed part of a wider pattern of abuse in Novelo’s young life. In 2019, authorities removed him from his mother after confirmed signs of abuse. They later returned him to her care.
Sentencing proceedings grew emotional as Acting Judge Amanda van Leeve summarised evidence presented by the state.
Van Leeve said, “The murder of a child at the hands of the mother is outrageous.”
“A message must be sent out and must be clear that behaviour you displayed will never be tolerated.”
Atlantis child abuse case highlights legal duty to report abuse
The judgment in the child murder sentencing highlights how courts confront direct violence and failures that allow abuse to continue.
IOL reports a separate Atlantis Magistrates’ Court case where authorities are prosecuting a mother charged with failure to report sexual abuse.
In this matter, an 11-year-old recently gave birth after allegedly being repeatedly assaulted by someone known to the family.
The abuse pattern contradicts
Source: The South African | Read the Full Story…
