The trial has resumed for the man accused of raping a seven-year-old girl in a bathroom at a Dros restaurant in Pretoria.

When last we checked in at the beginning of the month, 22-year-old Nicholas Ninow was referred for mental observation.

The referral would depend on the availability of a bed at Weskoppies, the institution where the accused will be monitored by four experts.

When Ninow was arrested, a substance was found on his person, which has now been confirmed by forensic experts to be cocaine, reports News24.

Furthermore, police have also tracked down a man who socialised with the accused at a restaurant on the day of the alleged incident, and a statement was obtained from him.

Police spokesperson Colonel Lungelo Dlamini confirmed to News24 that police had taken all the relevant statements of witnesses present that day.

On Wednesday morning, Ninow stood crying in the dock when he heard that a bed at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital was still not available.

State advocate Sanet Jacobson says that he is number 14 on a waiting list for a bed, and asked the case be postponed until January 15, 2019.

“As soon as a bed becomes available, we will requisition the accused and he will then be referred,” Jacobson added.

The court also heard that the accused would be referred to a district surgeon on Wednesday.

Magistrate Ignatius du Preez explained that, despite the postponement, if a bed became available before then, he would be referred.

On November 1, it was revealed that the accused had abused drugs since the age of 14 and had also been previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2013.

He has not yet pleaded to the charges, or brought an application for bail.

[source:news24]