Five-year-old child used in robbery of elderly woman in Verulam

It’s beyond scary to think about how criminals are upping their ‘crime game’ these days. Up and up cybercrime and the abundant new schemes that deceive scammers are cooking, the more petty crimes feed on your emotions.

Perhaps these crimes don’t involve the victims losing thousands of their life savings, but they do involve losing your sense of safety and security, not to mention abusing your humanity.

The South Africa Response Unit reported a crime involving a young child and an elderly woman on Saturday, October 26, 2024.

Read more: SA needs to take cybercrime more seriously – expert

The robbery took place in Trenance Park, Verulam and a suspect allegedly used a five-year-old girl to lure a 78-year-old woman as a means to steal her gold bracelets.

After some questioning by paramedics and Reaction SA officers, it was revealed that the elderly woman was doing household chores outside her home when a man, who she described as a “local drug user”, shouted at her from her neighbour’s garden.

“The man pointed to a female child who was now on her property and asked for the child to pass over the fence. The victim added that she was unsure how the child got into her yard, but walked over and passed the girl. At that point, the suspect grabbed her hand, forcibly removed her gold bangles and fled. (Facebook)

Read more: Shopping centers have become a hotspot for criminals

The woman was injured with scratches on her arms and hand. After some investigation, the SA Response Unit found that the suspect is known in the area and regularly visits the neighbor.

At one point he carried the child and placed her in the woman’s yard to lure the woman to the fence.

Please note that some of the photos below may disturb some readers, courtesy of Facebook.

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Image courtesy of Facebook