Two of the three men who raped a 14-year-old girl in Rocklands, Bloemfontein, have each been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Bloemfontein Sexual Offences Court.
Magistrate Jan Greyvensteyn on Tuesday sentenced Lerato Mahumapelo, 25, and Tlogelo Mooki, 23, both from Rocklands, for the incident which took place on December 16, 2017.
The complainant committed suicide while the matter was still in court.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said in a statement, on the day of the incident, the complainant, who was alone at home, went outside at around 22:00 to close the gate.
He said 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 after the incident and were granted bail,” said Shuping.
“The trial started in 2020 and the complainant gave her testimony and was also cross-examined by the defence lawyer.
“The complainant committed suicide a few months later, but the state prosecutor Advocate Ronell Botha proceeded with the matter.”
When 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, 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.
“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 victimised 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 be included in the National Register for Sex Offenders.
The director of public prosecutions in the Free State, Advocate Navilla Somaru, has commended the prosecutor and the investigating team for ensuring that the accused are punished for their actions. – Staff Reporter