Barberton rapist sentenced to life imprisonment
The accused denied raping the child and claimed that the mother had framed him.
According to the provincial spokesperson for National Prosecuting Authority, Monica Nyuswa, the convicted rapist name has been withheld to protect the victim.
“The victim and the accused had been residing in the same home. In May 2022, the victim came back from school and the accused called her to his room. When she got to his room, the accused started undressing her before raping her. The victim did not tell anyone and asked her mother if she could go and visit her father. Upon her arrival at her father’s place, she became emotional and started crying, indicating that she did not want to return to her mother’s place. When the father asked why she did not want to go back to her mother’s place, she reported the rape to him. The victim was taken to the local hospital for medical examination. The matter was reported to the police and the suspect was arrested,” she said.
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Nyuswa said the accused pleaded not guilty and testified that the victim’s mother framed him so that he would vacate the family house.
State prosecutor Jacqueline Letsoalo led credible evidence of the father and the nurse, whose testimony confirmed that the victim was raped. A J88 medical report indicated that the victim had internal and external injuries.
Letsoalo argued that the accused was in a position of trust, and a relative who was supposed to protect the victim and not to violate her. She requested the court to impose the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.
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Magistrate Ricardo Cloete expressed the court’s satisfaction with the evidence presented by the State, rejecting the accused’s version of events.
Cloete found no substantial or compelling reasons to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment and sentenced the rapist. He was declared unfit to possess a firearm and the court ordered that his name to be entered into the National Register for Sexual Offenders.
