Life sentence for Limpopo man who raped 10-year-old cousin

Pretoria – The South African Police Service (SAPS) in Limpopo on Saturday welcomed the life imprisonment meted by the Mankweng Regional Court to a 24-year-old man convicted of raping his cousin.

“The accused raped his minor girl cousin, aged 10, at one of the villages in Ga-Dikgale area of the Mankweng policing area, outside the City of Polokwane, during December 2017,” said Limpopo SAPS spokesperson Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe.

Ngoepe said the 10-year-old and her siblings were visiting their grandmother during the festive holidays.

“The victim was sleeping alone in one of the bedrooms during this day when the accused noticed that there was no one else at home, and suddenly entered the room and raped her,” said Ngoepe.

“Afterwards, he threatened the minor not to tell anyone about the incident which she complied with.”

The rapist, whose name has been withheld to protect the minor, attempted to rape the child again the following day, as she was sleeping.

“When he was busy taking off her pyjamas, he was disturbed by family members who did not notice anything. Another incident occurred at the backroom of the house while the other children were playing outside the residence. The accused raped the victim while asleep and she was also threatened not to tell anyone.”

At a later stage, the girl told one of her friends who told her mother and the incidents were reported to the police.

“The case was then assigned to detective sergeant Chuene Selolo attached to the SAPS Polokwane Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit who commenced with the initial investigations,” said Ngoepe.

“The manhunt for the suspect ensued until he was apprehended on 04 April 2018 and granted R2000 bail.”

Ngoepe said following “meticulous investigations” by the police, the 24-year-old was sentenced to life imprisonment for two counts of rape, and an additional eight years imprisonment for the attempted rape.

“The accused was also declared unfit to possess a firearm,” said Ngoepe.

African News Agency (ANA)