JOHANNESBURG - The 70-year-old man had his life sentence reduced  for raping a seven-year-old girl.

Earlier this week Judges Neil Tuchten, Legodi Phatudi and Pieter van der Byl confirmed the conviction of  Matinyane Salmon Makhube on a charge of rape but replaced his life sentence with one of 15 years imprisonment, dated back to 2005.

Judge Tuchten said he found that advanced age, together with the fact that he had a clean record, had a good work record and was a pensioner cumulatively constituted substantial and compelling circumstances for a reduction.

The ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) said it was appalling that such a ruling was made.

ANCWL spokesman Troy Martens said a decision like this undermined the hard work done by police officers and the prosecutors in bringing the man to justice.

“If a vulgar old man can commit such an awful crime against a vulnerable child, he should serve the full sentence despite his age.”

Manager for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse in Helderberg, Ada Buys said Makhube’s needs had been  considered “but he was capable of committing a heinous crime,” said Buys.

Buys asked about his victim and the trauma she has been left with.

“It is about the principle surrounding the incident. Having to endure such an ordeal will affect her throughout her life,” she explained.

The University of Cape Town’s Gender, Health and Justice Units Professor Lillian Artz said the message sent out given the reduction of Makhube’s sentence is if you are much older individual, the sentence is lighter. She said it was unfortunate that the victim was of such a young age.

Explaining that the symbolic nature of a sentence imposed is seen as critical, Artz said people look to courts for a severe sentence to be handed over as there is an expectancy that incidents of such a nature  be treated seriously especially because of the girl’s age.