The Thembisa magistrate's court on Friday sentenced a 50-year-old creative arts teacher who repeatedly raped a grade seven pupil in 2019 to five life terms.
Bethuel Lesetja Makgetha raped the 13-year-old East Rand pupil multiple times in October 2019, manipulating her into staying after school and threatening academic harm if she spoke out.
“Unbeknown to the learner's mother, who thought he was helping her daughter by escorting her home, Makgetha's true intentions were sinister,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said.
She said when the girl's mother, a trained virginity tester, noticed changes in her daughter's body. She confronted her and after she revealed the truth Makgetha was arrested.
“This sentence reflects the seriousness of the justice system in dealing with cases of gender-based violence and marks the end of the culmination of years of painstaking investigative and prosecutorial work by Sgt Jacky Baloyi and prosecutor Adele Erasmus,” Mjonondwane said.
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