While the young girl who was trafficked and forced into prostitution welcomed the jail sentence given to her Nigerian pimp‚ her mother still feared for her life.
Eke Ugochukwe‚ known as John to many‚ was sentenced to 20 years behind bars by the South Gauteng High Court on Monday.
The girl‚ now 17‚ was lured into a brothel in Rosettenville by her friend‚ known as Sonto‚ after she ran away from home two years ago following an argument with her mother.
“How safe is [my daughter] because Sonto knows all of John’s friends and she knows where we stay? We don’t know what they are planning to do‚” the woman told TimesLive during an exclusive interview at her home in Sebokeng last week.
“We are not safe at all but we don’t have anywhere else to go‚” she added.
Ugochukwe was found guilty of several charges‚ including living off the proceeds of sexual exploitation‚ being an accomplice to rape and contravening the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act.
Sonto had lured the girl‚ who was 15 at the time‚ to Ugochukwe’s house which was a brothel in Rosettenville. She later abandoned her there when she realized that Ugochukwe‚ who was her boyfriend‚ had taken a liking to her friend.
The victim said after Sonto left‚ Ugochukwe got her hooked on crystal meth‚ beat her‚ raped her and forced her to have sexual intercourse with numerous men for money. She had to hand over the money to Ugochukwe who in turn gave her shelter and drugs.
She later ran away to a church.
On Monday‚ a group of Nigerian nationals‚ believed to be Ugochukwe’s friends‚ were present in the courtroom. They occupied the back of the courtroom gallery.
The victim‚ who is not being named‚ said she recognized at least one of the men who were present in court but she was not afraid of them.
She hoped that Ugochukwe would be given a tough time in prison.
“I hope he is turned into somebody’s wife in jail‚” she said.
“I hope they do the same thing that he did to me‚ forced to have sex with different men.”
The victim said she was happy that she managed to get out of the world of prostitution.
“I am one of the few who managed to get out. I would advise other girls who are in the same situation to do the same‚” she had told TimesLive in an interview at her home last week.
Meanwhile‚ a young woman‚ dressed in a peach dress sat amongs some of Ugochukwe’s other friends in court.
She sobbed as his sentence was read out.
It was not immediately clear what relationship she had with Ugochukwe.
- TMG Digital
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