JOKE, a secondary school teacher married to James for close to 19 years tried not to raise her three children the way she’d been raised. “My father was very authoritarian and we were all in awe of him He was such a bully that mum dared not cross him. Prospective girlfriends and boyfriends were met furtively behind their parents back, because whenever dad cottoned on to any of the children being ‘toasted’ there would be hell to pay.
“The change in her was gradual at first. She started wearing provocative clothes and lots of make up. She became secretive and at times, was downright rude, but I wrote it off as just normal teenage behaviour. Then one Saturday night she didn’t come home. She told me she was going out with friends, but when she wasn’t home by 1a.m., I was beside myself with worry.
If you’re wondering why the police are not cracking down on these predators turning young girls into sex objects, here is what a top police spokesman has to say: under-aged girls selling sex on the streets is a real concern, but what worries me most is the number of girls being sexually exploited in private homes. This is on the rise and although we know who some of the perpetrators are, we can’t bring charges without the girls’ consent.