DOUBLE LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR RAPING TWO MINORS
A 32-year-old man who cannot be named to protect the victims has been sentenced to two life terms by the Postmasburg Regional Court after the court found him guilty of raping a 07-year-old and 08-year-old child. The accused was staying with the victims as well as their mother in Danielskuil, a small town near the mining town of Postmasburg in the Northern Cape. The state’s case emanates from an incident when one night in 2018, the mother of the two victims left the accused with the victims as she went looking for the elder brother of the two victims who had allegedly been stabbed. Taking advantage of the situation, the accused went to their mother’s bedroom where the two victims were sleeping and began to rape the two children. The two brave children reported the incident to their Aunt, who immediately informed the mother of their victims, and the matter was then reported to the police. The accused was arrested and charged with two counts of rape.
During the trial, the two brave children were able to point the accused in court. They further demonstrated the way the accused had covered their mouth with his hand when they cried. And detailed the pain they felt when he was raping them. These testimonies by the victims became overwhelming evidence against the accused person. After the state closed its case, the defence also closed its case without calling the accused to testify. The Court Prep Officer Kelebogile Mokgotsi assisted the court with the Witness Impact Statement of the two victims which played a major role in this matter. In aggravation of sentence, the Regional Court Prosecutor Moloi Kenneth Motsatse, argued that the accused person used his power and position of trust to exploit the victims. The accused person showed no remorse. The prosecutor further argued that the court should not deviate from the prescribed sentence for such heinous crimes considering that the victims are minor children. That the accused should be sentenced to life imprisonment for count one of rape and life imprisonment for count two of rape.
In sentencing, the court was satisfied with the evidence adduced by the state witnesses including the medical evidence that the injuries sustained by the two victims were consistent with penetration. The court sentenced the accused person to two life imprisonment. The court ordered that his name be included in the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO). The accused was also declared unfit to work with children. The accused was furthermore declared unfit to possess a firearm. The National Prosecuting Authority envisages that these sentences will provide some justice and closure to the victims as well as their families as the perpetrators of these violent crimes are removed from the communities.
