By Jonk wa Mashamba
news@alexreporter.co.za
The Groblersdal Regional Court has convicted and sentenced a 26-year-old man from Tafelkop to life imprisonment for the rape of a four-year-old minor girl.
The name of the accused has been concealed to protect the victim, as he is a neighbour to the victim.
According to Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi,
NPA spokesperson, in April 2021, in Tafelkop, the victim went to the accused’s homestead to play, and the accused grabbed her and went with her to his bedroom, where he raped her. He further gave her sweets and money to silence her.
“During the trial, the state led the oral evidence of the victim, who identified the accused in the absence of DNA evidence,” said Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi.
In aggravation of the sentence, the state prosecutor Moses Mathebe prayed for a life sentence and further argued that there were no substantial or compelling circumstances present to the court, to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence.
Therefore, the court sentenced the accused to life imprisonment, declaring him unfit to possess a firearm and unfit to work with children.
“The court further said that the name of the accused should be recorded in the sexual offender’s book,” said Malabi-Dzhangi.
Malabi-Dzhangi said the National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the sentence and applauds the good work of Prosecutor Mathebe.
“We will continue to fight against the scourge of Gender-Based-Violence.”