By Dr Shaheda Omar, Director, Teddy Bear Foundation

Published in Sunday Tribune print edition, 13 September 2026

Any rape committed by a police officer is serious, but when the alleged victims are children, the concern is magnified because of the extreme imbalance of power, authority and trust. The protector becomes a predator.

The issue is not simply that a police officer may have committed a sexual offence. It is that the alleged perpetrator was in a position where members of the public — and particularly vulnerable children — should reasonably expect protection.

IPID is specifically mandated to investigate rape by police officers, whether they are on or off duty. Police stations are also required to notify IPID of matters falling within its statutory mandate.

IPID’s published figures demonstrate that this is not an isolated phenomenon. Its 2022/23 annual report recorded 122 complaints of rape by police officers nationally, comprising 43 incidents involving officers on duty and 79 while off duty. Gauteng recorded 25 incidents and KwaZulu-Natal 24.

IPID subsequently reported that, in the first quarter of 2025/26, 27 cases of rape by police officers were registered, compared with 22 during the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. Gauteng recorded the highest number in that quarter, with five cases.

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.

The figures supplied in relation to 2025/26 — including the reported 116 rape cases and the 72 allegedly committed while officers were on duty — would, if confirmed in IPID’s final reporting, reinforce the seriousness of the trend. The fact that cases continue to reach the courts and result in substantial sentences demonstrates that this is a serious criminal-justice issue, not merely an internal disciplinary matter.

How often does the Teddy Bear Foundation encounter this?

At the Teddy Bear Foundation for Abused Children, we encounter children who have experienced many different forms of abuse, including sexual abuse by people in positions of authority and trust.

We do not, however, regard our organisational caseload as a national statistical measure of rape perpetrated by police officers. A police-specific figure should not be manufactured or extrapolated from our broader child-abuse caseload.

What we can say from our experience is that when a child is allegedly abused by a person who is supposed to protect them, the psychological consequences can be particularly profound. The child may experience not only the trauma of the sexual assault but also a sense of betrayal, confusion and loss of trust in adults and institutions.

That is why every such case needs a child-centred response that protects the child from further trauma while ensuring that the alleged perpetrator is held accountable through due process.

Can society trust the police to protect children?

We must be able to.

But trust cannot be based on the assumption that every police officer is automatically safe. It must be earned and continually demonstrated through professional conduct, effective supervision, rigorous vetting, accountability and consequences for misconduct.

The overwhelming majority of police officers may enter the profession because they want to serve and protect. We must not allow the conduct of alleged perpetrators to unfairly condemn an entire profession.

At the same time, we must never protect the reputation of an institution at the expense of a child.

A uniform cannot become a shield against accountability.

In fact, the power attached to a police uniform makes accountability even more important. A child who encounters a police officer should not have to wonder whether that officer is going to exploit the child’s vulnerability.

The alleged circumstances of this case are particularly troubling because the officer apparently encountered the girls precisely because he recognised them from a missing-child appeal. If the allegations are proven, the very information that was circulated to help rescue the children may have been used to facilitate their exploitation.

That is a chilling reminder that vulnerability can be exploited in unexpected ways.

How widespread is the problem nationally?

The available IPID statistics show that this is a national problem rather than a KwaZulu-Natal problem.

IPID’s historical data recorded rape-by-police complaints in every province. In 2022/23, for example, complaints were recorded in all nine provinces, with Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal among the provinces with the highest numbers.

More recent IPID reporting similarly identified Gauteng as a significant hotspot for rape cases involving police officers.

However, we must distinguish between prevalence and reporting. The number of cases known to IPID is not necessarily the number of incidents that actually occur.

Children may not disclose sexual abuse immediately. They may be frightened, threatened, manipulated or ashamed. They may also fear that nobody will believe them — particularly where the alleged perpetrator is a person wearing a uniform and carrying institutional authority.

Consequently, statistics should never be interpreted as representing the full extent of the problem.

What role does the Teddy Bear Foundation play?

The Teddy Bear Foundation’s role is fundamentally child-centred.

We support children and their families following allegations of abuse by providing counselling, psychosocial support and preparation for participation in the criminal justice process.

Our Child Court Preparation Programme is particularly important because a child entering a courtroom can find the experience frightening and unfamiliar. We work to ensure that children understand the court process in an age-appropriate manner and are emotionally and practically prepared to participate.

Importantly, our role is not to determine guilt or innocence. That remains the responsibility of the criminal justice system and ultimately the courts.

Our responsibility is to ensure that the child is supported and that the child’s rights, dignity and best interests remain central throughout the process.

Where appropriate, we help children understand what will happen when they testify, who the various role-players are and what can be expected in court. We seek to reduce the fear and uncertainty associated with giving evidence, while avoiding coaching or influencing the child’s testimony.

The objective is simple: the child must be protected without compromising the integrity of the justice process.

Accountability must be non-negotiable

There is an important distinction between supporting an accused person’s constitutional right to a fair trial and protecting an accused person from accountability.

Where evidence establishes that a police officer has raped a child, that officer must face the full consequences of the law.

IPID has demonstrated that serious cases can result in substantial sentences. In one recent case, a Western Cape police officer was sentenced to 25 years’ direct imprisonment for raping a 15-year-old girl. The court also ordered that his name be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders.

IPID has also reported rape convictions resulting in sentences ranging from eight to 25 years.

These outcomes send an important message: the uniform does not place anyone above the law.

Children must remain at the centre

The most important question in cases such as this should not be: How do we protect the reputation of the police?

It should be: How do we protect the child?

We need a policing system in which children can approach an officer without fear; a criminal justice system that responds swiftly and sensitively; an investigative system that is independent when allegations involve police officers; and a court process that holds perpetrators accountable when the evidence establishes guilt.

We also need stronger institutional safeguards.

Police officers who work directly with children and vulnerable people should be subject to rigorous recruitment, vetting, supervision and ongoing monitoring.

Allegations of sexual misconduct cannot simply disappear into internal processes. They require transparent, independent investigation and appropriate disciplinary and criminal consequences.

The Teddy Bear Foundation believes that child protection cannot be selective.

A child is a child whether the alleged perpetrator is a stranger, a family member, a teacher, a religious leader — or a police officer.

The uniform should represent safety. It should never become a licence to exploit vulnerability.

And when a child has been entrusted to the protection of the state, the state’s responsibility is even greater.

We must therefore send an unequivocal message: protect children, believe children, investigate allegations properly, support child witnesses, and where guilt is established, hold perpetrators accountable — regardless of the uniform they wear.

(Image credit: IOL)