A man who broke into a house and raped a woman who was asleep got away with the crime for 14 years until his DNA was taken in relation to an unrelated matter last year, and identified him as the suspect sought for the 2010 rape.
Spokesperson for Northern Cape police Col Cherelle Ehlers said the advancement in forensics provided a breakthrough police had been looking for and led to the successful prosecution of Mervin Cloete.
According to Ehlers, the case against Cloete was closed after two years because there were no leads. His sleeping victim had not seen him and no-one had witnessed him enter and leave the house in Okiep, a small town outside Springbok.
"There was no evidence, no suspect. The victim did not know who raped her," Ehlers said.
Last year the case was reopened after Cloete was arrested for contravening a protection order his girlfriend had taken out against him.
"His buccal sample was taken as that is a serious offence. The sample was entered into the system and that's how he was linked to the rape."
According to the spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority in the province, Mojalefa Senokoatsane, who was 30 years old at the time, was drinking with friends in December 2010 and fell asleep in a drunken stupor.
She was woken by a friend at about 11pm.
"The complainant immediately felt something was off. She realised her pants and underwear were cut. She told her friend she suspected she had been violated," said Senokoatsane.
Police were called and the DNA of all men in the house was taken but none of them was the rapist.
For two years, Det W/O Anthea Cloete-Landrew of the Springbok family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit followed every lead but always reached a dead end. She ended up closing the case but received a call last year which proved to be a breakthrough.
The DNA she submitted in 2010 had finally been matched with the perpetrator.
Cloete-Landrew had to reopen the case, find the victim and take her statement again.
"The victim was extremely emotional when she heard the news," Ehlers said.
During the trial, Cloete said he had consensual sex with the victim but all witnesses who were in the house at the time disputed his version, saying the victim could not have given consent as she was in a drunken stupor.
Cloete was found guilty of rape two weeks ago and sentenced to 15 years.
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