Mr. Steward Winston Marais (36) was sentenced to 20 years behind bars after he raped a 12-year-old girl in 2022 and escaped from custody.
On 2 July 2022 at about 11:00, three girls aged between 10 and 12 years, were out to cut and fetch wood in the veld.
Mr. Marais approached them and grabbed the victim, who was 11-year-old at that time, and forced her to a secluded spot in the bush where he raped her.
The other two girls ran home to report the incident which was reported to Boshof SAPS.
A search was conducted and the suspect was found and arrested at his residence. On 25 July 2022 the accused appeared in the Magistrates’ Court and he managed to escape from lawful custody.
He was rearrested the same day in one of the houses near the Magistrates’ Court.
A charge of escape from lawful custody against the accused was added.
He appeared in the Bloemfontein Regional Court on 19 June 2023 and was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment for rape and escape from lawful custody.
The Acting District Commissioner of Lejweleputswa, Brigadier Mzondi Mojafi, applauded the arresting officer and the investigating officer for a thorough investigation which led to this good conviction.
