Limpopo: Two convicted child rapists sentenced to life imprisonment
Provincial police has welcomed the hefty jail terms handed down to two men for the rape of minor girls during separate incidents.
LIMPOPO – The provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, has hailed the Family Violence and Sexual Offences (FCS) units for securing life imprisonment terms for two convicted child rapists.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo says the heinous crimes were committed in Mokopane in 2021 and Musina in 2019.
In Mokopane the Mokerong Regional Court on Monday (November 22) sentenced a convicted rapist to life imprisonment for the rape of his 11-year-old niece.
Mojapelo explained that the incident happened on July 2 when the victim visited the accused’s home in Mosesetjane, Ga-Kgobudi village under the Mokopane policing area. “After he raped the victim the accused accompanied her to her home in the same village where she stays with her grandmother and confessed to the crime and pleaded for forgiveness.”
On July 3 the grandmother together with the victim and accused went to the local police station to report the matter. A case of rape was opened and the accused was arrested.
The case was transferred to Mokopane Family Violence and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit and assigned to Sergeant Tina Motsimbi whose meticulous investigations found the accused guilty of rape, Mojapelo said.
Meanwhile in Musina a 28-year-old man was convicted for the rape of a 12-year-old girl on July 27, 2019.
The accused appeared in the Musina Regional Court on Tuesday (November 23) and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
“During the trial the court heard how the accused had accosted the victim while she was waiting for her sister at Tshiungani village under Muswodi policing area. He threatened her and then dragged her into an abandoned house where he raped her.”
He explained that the victim later escaped from the location and while on the way home met family members who were searching for her. “She told them about the incident and together they opened a case of rape at the local police station.”
The accused was arrested on July 28.
“The case was transferred to the Musina Family Violence and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) and assigned to Sergeant Mbavhalelo Vhengani whose investigation led to a positive conviction.
Hadebe added that these sentences have ensured that the convicted felons are permanently removed from society. “We hope that these sentences will also send a strong message to all the perpetrators who abuse and take advantage of the vulnerable group including women and children,” she concluded.
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