‘Rein of terror’ ends as serial rapist sentenced nearly 1 000 years

A serial rapist received a sentence of 988 years and five life imprisonments at the North Gauteng High Court on Thursday.

Sello Abraham Maponya was found guilty of 32 counts of rape, numerous housebreakings and robbery with aggravating circumstances.

Maponya faced 101 initial charges and he was convicted of 74 when he appeared in court on Thursday.

Maponya’s reign of terror began in 2014, and he was arrested on 20 March 2019.

Judge Joseph Masopa said in one incident Maponya threatened to rape a two-year-old and a three-year-old “because their mother refused to comply with him”.

Masopa said Maponya would sometimes stab his victims and sometimes beat them with a hammer.

He said Maponya would shine a torch in the victim’s faces and force them to cover themselves with a blanket before raping them so they could not identify him.

“His victims couldn’t identify him but he was identified through DNA.”

He said Maponya did not use condoms when raping his victims, giving some of them HIV.

“There is no doubt in my mind that I can call you a serial rapist. One of the victims testified that she tested positive for HIV after she was raped having been negative before being raped.”

He said Maponya would target the women living in shacks in Atteridgeville and those who were living in RDP houses in Nellmapius, Mamelodi.

“The sentence will teach others who are still thinking about doing what you have done that a woman’s body is no place to play on.

“It will teach other people to respect others and their belongings.”

One of the victims Thuleleni Mtsweni told Rekord she had a friend who could not come to court and she was excited to tell her friend they had won.

“This man will never walk in the streets where there is a woman.

We fought a fight and we did not just fight for us, but we fought for women out there who cannot speak for themselves.

“We are strong enough now. I was ashamed of showing my face out there. I still have a scar on my head of what this man did to me. I remember I had blood all over my head thinking I might not survive, but I did and he went down.”

Another victim who was 14 when she was raped, Refilwe Selamolela said she was still in school at the time when the attack happened.

“I had to be brave every day to see men walk around. I would hear about more rape cases being opened and I asked myself why do men do this.”

NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said they welcomed the sentence and they felt and believed justice had been served.

Also read: North men sentenced to collective 41 years for fraud and theft

Sergeant Refilwe Tladi who was investigating the case said police wanted to thank the victims for co-operating with the investigation.

“They said they would testify. Today the truth won. We are so happy with the sentence he got.”

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