Rustenburg – An uncle who raped his 12-year-old niece and gave her R4 in a bid to buy her silence, was on Thursday sentenced to life imprisonment at the Groblersdal Regional Court in Limpopo.
The 56-year-old rapist raped his niece in Dennilton in December 2019.
"The incident took place in Dennilton, at the victim's grandmother’s place. Upon their arrival at the grandmother’s house, they entered and the accused grabbed and dragged her into her aunt’s bedroom.
“He then undressed her and closed her mouth with his hand and raped her. After the ordeal, he gave the victim R4 and told her not to tell anyone," said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson in the Limpopo division, Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi.
"The accused pleaded not guilty to the offence, but in aggravation of the sentence, the State Advocate Chwayita Mkhwayimba called 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.
“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 register," Malabi-Dzhangi said.
In North West, Cornelius Sedumoeng, 26, was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a 66-year-old woman, and additional 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances.
"The evidence presented in court revealed that on 24 October, 2021, at Mokgareng village near Taung, Sedumoeng broke into the home of the complainant in the early hours of the morning, while she was asleep.
"Upon investigation, the complaint was confronted by the accused who started assaulting her before raping her. He subsequently robbed her of an amount of R450 and a cellphone before fleeing the scene," said NPA spokesperson in the North West division, Henry Mamothame.
He said the woman was able to recognise Sedumoeng while he was robbing her and his parents were informed of the incident.
"He admitted to raping the elderly woman and the money and cellphone he had robbed were also recovered from him. He was later arrested and the court denied him bail. He pleaded not guilty to the offence,“ Mamothame said.
IOL