The convict, Simon Mogawane, was found guilty on two counts of rape, theft and attempted robbery and was convicted on June 27, and sentenced on Friday, October 12.

Simon has been in custody since 2014 and his coaccused is still at large after he escaped police custody at Selwane Cross Junction whilst he was being transported by the police.

The prosecutor, Vuyo Mkhulise, when addressing the court, said that a balance between the nature of the crime and the safety of the community should be taken into consideration when delivering the sentence.

“The manner in which the offence was committed shows that it was planned, the suspects were well aware of what they were doing as they separated their victims from each other,” said the prosecutor.

“Your honour, the victim was not able to breathe because of the bag they had put over her head and after raping the one victim they instructed her to suck the penis of one of the perpetrators. “As if that was not enough, they instructed her to wash her private parts with water they came with and they continued to wash it for her,” the prosecutor continued.

He said that there was no sign of remorse from the accused and even during the trial, the suspect showed no remorse. “He pleaded not guilty even after DNA and evidence proved that he was guilty,” said the prosecutor.

The South African Police Service in Phalaborwa welcomed the sentence of the 29-year- old. The convict raped and robbed two minors between 2011 and 2014 around Namakgale, Phalaborwa.

The dedicated team of Detectives from Phalaborwa Family violence, Child Protection and Sexual offences unit (FCS) led by Captain Moses Monyela acted swiftly and investigated the cases.

The investigation left no stone unturned and it ultimately led to the arrest of the suspect. The FCS team ensured that the suspect remained behind bars during the process. On count one, the rape of the first minor, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

On count two of aggravating robbery he was sentenced to five years imprisonment. On count three, of the rape of the second minor, he was also sentenced to a life imprisonment and for count four, robbery, he received a further sentence of three years.

The sentence of Simon “Sai Sai” Mogawane was welcomed by the Station Commander of Phalaborwa Colonel Patricia Rakhadani. “The conviction serves as a warning to criminals who continue to terrorise women and children in our society.

Special thanks to Captain Monyela and the team for the hard work in ensuring that rapists are removed from the community,” said Sergeant Mongwe.