Four rapes, man handed three life imprisonments, Madikwe

South African Police Service

Four rapes, man handed three life imprisonments, Madikwe
Four rapes, man handed three life imprisonments, Madikwe

Victor Nyabele Lesele, 35, was on Friday, 7 August 2020, sentenced to three life imprisonments on three counts of rape by the Madikwe Regional Court. The sentencing emanates from rape incidents that Lesele committed between 2014 and 2017, in Tlokweng village in the policing precinct of Madikwe.

In the first incident at about 03:30 on Sunday, 30 March 2014, the then 19-year-old woman was on her way home from a tavern when ambushed by an unknown male. The attacker forcefully took the victim to an abandoned house where he raped her. Thereafter, he robbed the victim of her cellular phone and fled the scene. The matter was reported to the police.

Secondly, on Wednesday, 17 September 2014, another 19-year-old woman was walking with her boyfriend at about 20:00 when an unknown male charged at them near the local graveyard. The boyfriend ran and left the girlfriend behind to seek assistance after the assailant struck him with a rake. The assailant took the girlfriend to an abandoned house and in the process, asked the woman if the person who raped her in March has been arrested. The accused subsequently raped the woman twice before fleeing from the scene on foot. The victim ran to the main road where she found her boyfriend.

Thirdly, on Sunday, 7 June 2015, at about 03:30, the then 25-year-old woman was walking home when a person known to her as Nyabele grabbed and dragged her to an old house where he raped her. Furthermore, the accused forcefully took the victim to his house where he raped her again. The victim managed after the accused fell asleep, to escape and ultimately reported the matter to the police. The accused was arrested and later released on bail. A warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to return to court.

Lastly, on Tuesday, 3 January 2017 at about 18:00, an eight-year-old minor was walking home alone when confronted by an unknown male near the graveyard. The accused threatened her with a spade, then grabbed and forced her into an old abandoned house where he raped her. After the ordeal, the victim managed to run to a nearby filling station and reported the incident. The filling station owner accompanied the victim to look for the accused who was found and identified. Although he fled and disappeared, the incident was reported to the police. Lesele was eventually apprehended in Phokeng near Rustenburg in September 2018.

He was further linked through the DNA tests with all four rape incidents. The accused has been in detention until his sentencing. He was sentenced as follows:

Count 1: rape – 10 years imprisonment;
Count 2: robbery – 3 years imprisonment;
Count 3: rape – life imprisonment;
Count 4: rape – life imprisonment;
Count 5: rape – life imprisonment.

The sentences will run concurrently. Moreover, the accused was declared unfit to possess a firearm in terms of section 103 of the Firearms Control Act, 2000 (Act No. 60 of 2000).

The sentences come after another rape accused, Adam Boiki Kerileng, 38, was on Tuesday, 4 August 2020 given two life sentences for rape by the Lichtenburg Regional Court.

The Provincial Commissioner of North West, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena lauded the Investigating Officer, Warrant Officer Hein Rabe of the Lehurutshe Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit and all other role players for a job well done. He said that the sentences came a few days before the commemoration of Women’s Day and that it will send a clear message that the police will not hesitate to ensure that perpetrators of Gender-Based Violence are brought to book.

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SOURCESouth African Police Service