Man gets 15 years for raping girlfriend
The magistrate agreed with the prosecution that the accused did not have remorse, as he treated the victim as his property and still maintained he did not rape her.
The Pretoria Magistrate’s Court handed down a hefty sentence to a 38-year-old man from Mamelodi East for the rape of his 25-year-old girlfriend.
The 38-year-old man is identified as Mr X.
National Prosecution Authority (NPA) Gauteng regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said the accused was sentenced to 15 years’ direct imprisonment on June 25.
The accused was further sentenced to 8 years direct imprisonment for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Mahanjana said the court ordered that all sentences run concurrently with the 15 years’ direct imprisonment and ordered that he be declared unfit to possess a firearm.
On the evening of December 1, 2020, Mr X received information from a friend that his girlfriend was with another man at a nearby shop.
Mahanjana said acting on the information, Mr X went to the shop, found his girlfriend standing alone and proceeded to assault and drag her on the street towards his place of residence in Mamelodi East, metres away from the shop.
The girlfriend wrestled herself loose and ran to a nearby house and hid herself in the toilet outside.
However, when the owners of the house saw her, they requested her to leave. She continued to walk with Mr X to his place of residence.
On arrival, Mr X pushed her inside his bedroom in the house, assaulted her and proceeded to rape her.
During the night, while they were sleeping Mr X began to rape her again.
In the morning, the complainant called her mother, who then came to fetch her.
The following day, a case was opened against Mr X, and he was arrested on December 3.
In court, Mr X pleaded not guilty, stating that he never assaulted the complainant and that they had consensual sex.
However, state prosecutor Anton Burger presented compelling evidence, which secured the conviction.
During sentencing proceedings, Mr X (through his legal representative) asked the court not to impose the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.
He said he is a first-time offender, that he is remorseful and has been in custody after his bail was revoked in October 2023.
However, Burger strongly opposed this and asked the court to impose a sentence of life imprisonment.
“Mr X is convicted of very serious offences and that he is not remorseful because he still believes that he did not rape the complainant.
“Mr X portrayed extremely possessive behaviour towards the complainant, which reflects that he believes he owns the complainant and is entitled to her body,” he added.
Burger also handed in a victim impact statement facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Kgomotso Lodi, where the complainant expressed how the rape and assault has negatively impacted her mental health and emotions.
In delivering judgment, Magistrate Sheila Msibi agreed with the state that Mr X is convicted of serious offences that are prevalent in the court’s jurisdiction and that his conduct was brutal in nature.
She added that being in a love relationship with the complainant did not give him the right of ownership to her body and that he humiliated her in public, stripping her of her right to dignity.
Furthermore, she said it is undeniable that as a country, “we are facing a high volume of crime against women and children”.
Moreover, she said rape in the context of a relationship is not condemned, however she found that there are substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from imposing the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.
Mahanjana said the NPA welcomed the sentence and hoped that it sends a strong message to society that such crimes of gender-based violence (GBV) will not be tolerated but rather prosecuted without fear, favour or prejudice.
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