Dros rape accused waits for a bed in mental facility, case delays drag on

The 20-year-old man accused of raping a child at a Dros restaurant is set to return to court in Pretoria in mid-January.

He appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court briefly on Wednesday. In the dock, he hung his head low, clenching his hands.

He is awaiting admission to the Weskoppies psychiatric institution for an assessment.

During a previous appearance, on November 1, the court heard that the accused had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had undergone treatment for substance abuse as a teenager.

Legal Aid attorney Riaan du Plessis said there was a history of mental illness in the accused’s family.

The young man is accused of raping the child in a bathroom in the restaurant’s Silverton branch in September. He was found completely naked, with fluids on his body, in one of the cubicles. The state informed the court that they were also waiting for toxicology reports on the fluids.