JUSTICE DONE: Zephany Nurse’s biological mother, Celeste Nurse, and her boyfriend, Justin Smit, left, leave the Cape Town High Court where the woman accused of kidnapping Zephany as a baby was found guilty yesterday.Picture: ESA ALEXANDER
THE biological parents of Zephany Nurse rejoiced yesterday after the woman who kidnapped their baby 18 years ago was convicted.
But now begins the real struggle – fostering a relationship with the daughter they spent nearly two decades searching for.
Cape Town Judge President John Hlophe convicted the woman, 51, of kidnapping, fraud and contravention of the Children’s Act.
Hlophe said: “Your story, if anything, is a fairy tale”.
The woman cannot named to protect Zephany.
Zephany’s biological parents, Celeste and Morne Nurse, declined to comment after the hearing, but their families said they were ecstatic.
Morne’s mother, Zephra Nurse, said the next step for her family was to nurture a relationship with Zephany.
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“She must just come,” Nurse said. “We are waiting patiently because we are her biological family.”
Celeste’s mother, Marilyn Francis, said: “Zephany is back. We just need to work on how she comes back to us.”
But Morne’s uncle, Clarence Sergers, was cautious.
He said it would take a lot of time to forge a bond between Zephany and her real parents.
International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect president Joan van Niekerk said Zephany might not immediately bond with her real family.
“Her biological parents will need a lot of help with coming to terms with that fact,” Van Niekerk said.
Criminal law expert Marcello Stevens said the woman could be sentenced to between one year and 10 years’ imprisonment for the crime.
“Correctional supervision could be an option,” he said.
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