Staff Reporter
A 31-year-old Free State man has been sentenced to a total of 150 years after he was convicted on eight counts of rape, seven counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, one count of compelled rape, one count of sexual assault, one count of housebreaking as well as a count of theft.
Free State High Court Judge Sylvia Daniso sentenced Anele Headman Gqorholo, from Zamdela in Sasolburg, to 10 years for each count of rape, 15 years for each count of robbery with aggravating circumstances, five years for sexual assault, five years for compelled rape, three years for housebreaking and two years for theft.
In a statement, National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said the judge however ordered the sentences to run concurrently with the sentences in the rape counts, thus making Gqorholo’s sentence an effective 80 years’ imprisonment.
Gqorholo started his four-year rape spree – which reads like a script from a horror movie – on September 13 2015 when he accosted a 23-year-old woman who was walking with her boyfriend.
According to Shuping, he threatened them with a knife and assaulted the boyfriend before instructing him to have sex with the victim.
“The boyfriend pretended that he is having sex with the victim but ran away. Gqorholo then raped the victim and robbed her of her cellular phone,” he added.
On January 9 2016, the accused broke into the house of a 31-year-old woman who was asleep with her baby and raped her.
He also took her two bank cards.
On May 2 2016, a 21-year-old woman was walking with her friend when they were confronted by Gqorholo.
The friend managed to run away and the accused then raped the victim.
Gqorholo raped the fourth woman on May 18 2016.
The 27-year-old woman was sleeping at night when she saw someone in the house.
She woke up and tried to get out of the house but the accused grabbed her, forced her back into the house and raped her.
On July 23 2016, shortly after midnight, an 18-year-old woman was walking home when she was approached by the accused who overpowered and raped her.
He took her R50 and a cellular phone.
On February 4 2017, a 26-year-old woman had a quarrel with her boyfriend and decided to walk to her parents’ home, but was raped by the accused when he attacked her on the way.
The accused continued with his crime spree when he raped four more women aged between 21 and 31 between June 2018 and May 2019.
None of the victims knew the accused but he was linked to all the crimes through DNA sampling.
The state prosecutor, Advocate Sandile Mthethwa, described Gqorholo as a remorseless serial rapist who went on a four-year crime spree by raping defenceless women.
“The accused planned all his criminal activities because he targeted defenceless women and he could have continued if he was not arrested,” Mthethwa said.
“The court should protect defenceless women by imposing a harsh sentence.”
Judge Daniso concurred with the prosecutor and sentenced Gqorholo to an effective 80 years’ imprisonment.