Life imprisonment for rapist of three-year-old girl

The Empangeni regional court has sentenced a rapist to life imprisonment after raping a three-year-old girl outside her homestead.

In December 2015, the girl was playing with friends when neighbour Velenkosini Myeni, 32, called her over to walk with him into the bushes.

"While he was raping her in the bushes, a 15-year-old boy who was coming from the grazing veld heard the child screaming in the bushes.

"He went towards the screaming direction to investigate and found the suspect allegedly raping the child. He immediately called his elders who came for assistance," KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Lt-Col Thulani Zwane said.

The suspect was caught and handed over to the police.