The Acting Provincial Commissioner of the Saps in Limpopo, Major General Jan Scheepers has warmly welcomed the life sentences handed down on 24 June 2020, by the Modimolle Regional Court against two accused aged 25 and 34, for raping three children during separate incidents in the Modimolle area.
The sentencing of the first accused aged 25, follows two rape incidents that occurred in 2015 and 2019 at Mabaleng Squatter camp in which he raped two girls aged 16 and 3.
On 8 November 2015, at around 02:00, the accused raped a 16 year old victim. The other incident occurred on 27 January 2019 at about 01:30, where the accused was given an accommodation by one of his relatives after he asked for it. In the middle of the night, he sneaked out, went to the children’s room and raped the three year old victim. He then left.
The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a three year old child and ten years for raping a 16-year-old girl. Both sentences will run concurrently.
The cases were assigned to the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) investigators, Warrant Officer Emmanuel van Der Merwe and Sergeant Jeridah Tukakgomo of the Modimolle Unit.
The other accused aged 34, was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping his 12 year old stepdaughter in Modimolle on 12 September 2016, at around 06:55.
The names of the accused are withheld to protect the identity of the victims as they are related.
“These sentences should send a strong and clear message that the police, especially members attached to the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offenses Unit will not sleep when the most vulnerable members of our society are grossly violated, but will continue hunting down the culprits until they are brought to book,” concluded General Scheepers.
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