LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR RAPE AND ASSAULT OF A MINOR
The Eshowe Regional Court has sentenced a 40-year-old man to a term of life imprisonment for the rape and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm to an eight-year-old girl. The incident took place in September 2021. The complainant and her younger sibling were staying in a two-bedroom house together with the accused who was a herder for the complainant’s family. On the night of the incident, the accused came home drunk and assaulted the complainant using his hands and a broomstick, causing her to sustain injuries to her eyes. He then strangled her and threw her onto the bed. He raped her in the presence of her younger sibling who was in the same room. The complainant eventually reported the matter to her granny. The accused was apprehended by the community who handed him over to the police.
In court, Prosecutor Kacey Pillay led the testimony of the first report as well as the complainant’s younger sibling who had witnessed the rape. The evidence of the medical doctor who examined the complainant, after the matter was reported, further bolstered the state’s case. In aggravation of the sentence, Ms Pillay submitted a Victim Impact Statement (VIS) compiled by the complainant and facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Amanda Pretty Nxumalo. In her statement, the complainant indicated that she is no longer a happy child. Following the incident, she is bullied and is regarded as the girl who was raped. She said that the accused robbed her of her childhood.
The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment, and he was declared unfit to possess a firearm. The court also ordered that his name be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders and that he is not allowed to work with children.
The NPA hopes that sentences of this nature indicate our commitment to the fight against sexual abuse and gender-based violence. These sentences provide justice and closure to the victims and their families and remove violent criminals from our communities.
