Two Men Were Sentenced To Life For Raping A 14-Year-Old Girl

BLOEMFONTEIN: Two of the three men, who raped a 14-year-old girl, were sentenced to life imprisonment each, by the Bloemfontein Sexual Offences Court. Magistrate Jan Greyvensteyn, sentenced Lerato Mahumapelo (25) and Tlogelo Mooki (23), both from Rocklands, Bloemfontein, for an incident that took place on 16 December 2017. The complainant committed suicide, while the matter was still in court.

On the day of the incident, the complainant, who was alone at the time, went outside at around 22h00 to close the gate, and she was forcefully taken by the three men to a certain house where they took turns raping her.  The accused were arrested a few days later, after the incident but were granted bail. The trial started in 2020, and the complainant gave her testimony and she was also cross-examined by the defence lawyer. The complainant committed, suicide a few months later, but the State Prosecutor, Adv. Ronell Botha proceeded with the matter.

The state closed its case and the defence brought an application for discharge, in terms of Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act, but the application was dismissed. The third accused, Gomolemo Kganare, failed to come to court and a warrant was issued for his arrest. In aggravation of sentence, Adv. Botha requested the court not to deviate from the minimum prescribed sentence, because of the seriousness of the offence and the fact that rape cases are prevalent in Bloemfontein and the courts should not trivialize them by imposing light sentences on the accused.

“Rape has become a serious concern in Bloemfontein, as shown by statistics and imposition of a light sentence will send a wrong message. The complainant stated in the victim impact statement that she was being victimized at school, as it was known that she was raped. This could be the reason why she took her own life. What is sad is that a family has lost a child because she was struggling to accept what happened to her”, said Botha.

Magistrate Greyvensteyn was not convinced that the accused advanced any substantial and compelling circumstances, for the imposition of a lesser sentence and he sentenced the accused to life imprisonment each. He further ordered that their names should be included in the National Register for Sex Offenders.

The Director of Public Prosecutions in the Free State, Adv. Navilla Somaru has commended the Prosecutor and the investigating team, for ensuring that the accused are punished for their actions.

Issued by:

PHALADI SHUPING                                                                                                                              

NPA SPOKESPERSON: FREE STATE DIVISION                                                                                     

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