Tsakani graveyard rapist sentenced to three life terms
Petetona's youngest victim was a seven-year-old.
Tsakani – Tsakani graveyard rapist Petetona Abel Lebele was sentenced to three life terms by the Pretoria High Court sitting at the Benoni Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
His name has been added to the national register for sexual offenders. The 43-year-old was found guilty on all four counts of kidnapping and rape three weeks ago.
During his rape campaign between January 2017 and August 2019, Petetona targeted his victims aged 7, 13, 26 and 16 when they were on their way to school or home.
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His youngest victim was a 7-year-old on January 19, 2017, when the minor was on her way to school and he offered her sweets.
In his guilty plea, he told the court that he would grab and drag them to the Tsakane cemetery where he would rape them.
“The minor refused and attempted to run away but I caught up with her and dragged her to the cemetery where I raped and left her there,” he told the court.
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On August 19, 2019, he went on to rape a 32-year-old victim who had her two-year-old child on her back. Before raping her, he pushed the toddler from the mother’s back to the ground.
The state prosecutor Advocate Lawrence Sivhidzho told the court that Petetona was previously convicted for theft in 2015 and robbery in 2008 and was declared unfit to possess a firearm.
After sentencing, Petetona applied for leave to appeal which was opposed by the state and denied by the court.
