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A fine or suspended sentence were also not deemed suitable alternatives.
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A Northern Cape teenage boy has been sentenced to a youth care centre for raping a seven-year-old girl, avoiding juvenile prison.
The offender, who was 14 years old at the time the crime was committed, was convicted and sentenced in August last year after pleading guilty to his charge.
During the trial at the Victoria West District Magistrate’s Court, the teenager, along with his mother and legal representative, submitted a signed written statement in which he described the events of the incident.
He admitted to raping the girl, who is now seven years old, under a bridge in the Pixley ka Seme district in September 2023.
The boy explained that he had been “playing” with the victim and other children before the incident took place.
Another child witnessed the act and went to alert nearby adults, prompting the teenager to flee the scene.
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According to the victim’s report, the seven-year-old girl was walking with a friend from town to her mother’s house when they came across the offender.
The teenager allegedly chased after them, shouting that he would show them something.
When he caught up with the girl, he threatened her with a stick and struck her before committing the assault.
Following the incident, the victim experienced difficulty sleeping and continues to suffer from flashbacks and recurring images of the offender, the report stated.
The court also heard that the teenager did not live with his mother, a single, unemployed parent raising three other children.
She testified that her son, who receives a child support grant, had become addicted to marijuana and dropped out of school.
Acting Regional Magistrate CJ Abrahams accepted the guilty plea and, in accordance with the Children’s Act, sentenced the teenager to a youth care centre.
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Abrahams ordered that he remain there until he turns 21.
He further directed that the offender be sent to the centre immediately and not be held in any police cell or lock-up facility.
The conviction and sentence were later subjected to automatic review by the Northern Cape High Court in Kimberley.
In his judgment, Judge Albert Nxumalo concluded that the teenage boy had evidently displayed a “criminal attitude.”
“People with criminal attitudes think crime is part of life or out of their control and tend to make excuses for why they commit the same.
“The offender seems to have been exposed to circumstances that forced him not to develop according to expected or morally acceptable milestones,” the document reads.
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Nxumalo also found it “disturbing” that the teenager and his mother had seemingly not apologised to the victim or her family.
“The offender’s mother is presenting herself as a victim of his transgressions.”
He emphasised that the offender committed a very serious crime, highlighting the victim’s age.
“Whilst the damage of the offence might not be fully visible at present, it might resurface later in her development.
“It is so that children and young people who have been sexually abused can suffer a range of psychological and behavioural problems from mild to severe, in both the short and long term.”
The judge also noted the offender “appeared not to have been considerate of the victim’s feelings or the fact that what he was doing to her was wrong”.
Nxumalo said that although the teenager was guilty, a fine was “out of the question”.
“Similarly, a suspended sentence is not a suitable alternative, in view of the fact that it is reported that the offender’s mother has no control over his behaviour.
“Correctional supervision was also not deemed appropriate in the circumstances.”
The court, therefore, upheld his sentence to a youth care centre.
“The objective of sentencing children to compulsory residence in children and youth care centres is to encourage them to understand the implications of, and be accountable for the harm caused.”
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