Man who tried to buy child rape victims' silence with R10 gets life in jail

A 31-year-old man who tried to buy the silence of his child rape victims with R10 was on Wednesday sentenced to two life terms by the Mankweng regional court in Limpopo.

The incidents occurred in Toronto, Mankweng, in September 2017, when the accused lured two minor child neighbours playing in the street into a house. 

He called each child into the house on different occasions, with the promise of giving them money.

“The minors would follow him into the room, and he would undress them before raping them. He would give them R10 after the incident and warn them not to tell anyone,” said  National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi.

The first victim was 11 when she was raped.

She told her mother 10 days later and the matter was reported to the police.

The second victim was raped two weeks later. She too reported the incident to her mother after a few days and a case was opened.

During the trial, the accused — who is not being named to protect the identity of his victims — pleaded not guilty to both charges.

The state led the evidence of six witnesses, including two doctors who examined the children.

The state also handed in J88 forms to corroborate the doctors' evidence about the injuries sustained by the girls. The J88 is the official form used to record injuries sustained by victims of crime.

There was no DNA evidence due to the delay in the rapes being reported to the police.

Victim impact reports by the probation officer showed that the first victim struggles to fall asleep and experiences nightmares, shouting the accused’s name. She became reluctant to go to school after the incident and had a sudden change of behaviour towards her brother, as well as becoming disrespectful towards family members.

The second victim’s school performance dropped slightly after the incident as she lost concentration easily. She became aggressive towards fellow pupils.

The pre-sentence report for the accused was handed in by the state, which recommended that he be sentenced to life imprisonment on both counts.

Magistrate Fanie Reynolds could not find any compelling circumstances to deviate from imposing the prescribed minimum sentence. He sentenced the accused to life imprisonment for each count of rape. The sentences will run concurrently.

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