Francistown — Last year, the boy was sent to Ikago Rehabilitation Center in Molepolole after raping a four-year-old girl in the village.

The victim's relative, Charles Makabe, told of how the unruly boy lured the young girl to a nearby construction site where he raped her. "We were inside the house while the kids were playing in the yard. Later in the afternoon we noticed that my niece was missing. "We became worried, especially when we traced the footprints and found that someone had taken her. The footprints led to a bush near the Kalcon construction site, and when we approached we heard a child screaming.

"Workers shouted to us saying that a child had been abandoned in the bush. The little girl had been raped and beaten up. She was hysterical and in obvious pain," Makabe said. Tonota police are aware of the boy's criminal activities, and this week Detective Superintendent Bigboy Nkhwanana, confirmed that the boy had escaped from the Molepolole Correctional Center.

"When he was originally convicted of the rape, he was sent to the center, but was not admitted as he was only thirteen, a year under the admission age. This year, he was taken back and he escaped but the Social Services never informed us till we enquired. "We are now looking for him and we hear that he's been spotted at Selepa location in Francistown," the officer said. Nkhwanana said juveniles are a responsibility of social workers and that after conviction they are supposed to ensure that offenders are taken to a correctional center. "As the police, we help the social welfare with transport and escort the convicted juveniles to the center in Molepolole. The social workers have to do the reports and recommendations on how to deal with juvenile cases.

"When we enquired why the boy was not at the correctional center, the newly appointed social worker told us that he escaped from the center and that the school authorities did not report the matter to them or the police," Nkhwanana said. Last week, The Voice visited the boy's family at Semotswane Village and learnt that the troublesome teenager and his mother had travelled to visit relatives in Palapye. His 23-year-old brother said his rowdy teenage sibling had been an outcast since childhood. "We have given up on that boy. He doesn't have respect for anyone. He left school while he was still doing standard one and since then he has been living a dangerous life.

"He seems to be addicted to stealing because he even goes to the extent of robbing poor, old people. He recently mugged and robbed an old age pensioner who is our neighbour. "It was month-end and she had just collected her monthly pension from the post office. My brother lay in wait for her and, when she got home, he robbed her. "Last year, he was sent to the boys' prison in Molepolole and in December he escaped leaving all his blankets and clothes behind. He's a threat to everyone even us, his own family.

"My mother recently took him to Palapye with the hope that a change of environment would help him look at things differently, but last week his bad habits continued. "He broke into a tuck shop in Palapye and was badly beaten up by members of the public." Efforts to get a comment from the Social Services in Tonota were unsuccessful as the social worker responsible was said to be on leave.