Man Sentenced To Life In Prison After Trying To Buy Child Rape Victims’ Silence With R10

The Mankweng regional court in Limpopo sentenced a 31-year-old man to two life terms on Wednesday for attempting to buy the silence of his child rape victims with R10.

In September 2017, the accused lured two minor child neighbours playing in the street into a house in Toronto’s Mankweng neighbourhood. He invited each child into the house on different occasions, promising them money.

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“The minors would follow him into the room, and he would undress them before raping them. He would give them R10 after the incident and warn them not to tell anyone,” said  National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi.

When the first victim was raped, she was 11 years old. She informed her mother ten days later, and the incident was reported to the police.

Two weeks later, the second victim was raped. After a few days, she, too, reported the incident to her mother, and a case was opened. During the trial, the accused pleaded not guilty to both charges and was not named to protect the identities of his victims.

Six witnesses, including two doctors who examined the children, testified for the state. The state also submitted J88 forms to back up the doctors’ testimony about the girls’ injuries. The J88 is the official form for recording the injuries suffered by victims of crime.

Due to the delay in reporting the rapes to the police, there was no DNA evidence.

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The probation officer’s victim impact reports revealed that the first victim struggles to sleep and has nightmares, shouting the accused’s name. After the incident, she became hesitant to attend school and displayed a sudden change in behaviour toward her brother, as well as becoming disrespectful toward family members.

The second victim’s school performance suffered slightly due to the incident because she was easily distracted. She became hostile toward her classmates. The state submitted the accused’s pre-sentence report, which recommended that he be sentenced to life in prison on both counts.

Magistrate Fanie Reynolds found no compelling reasons to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence. For each count of rape, he sentenced the accused to life in prison. The sentences will run concurrently.