Tshepiso Oliphant
A 32-YEAR-old man who was found guilty of raping two women was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Kuruman Regional Court.
The provincial head of the SAPS Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit, Brigadier Nicky Mills, said that what made the crimes even more heinous was the fact that both women were pregnant at the time that they were raped.
The accused, Tshepiso Godfrey Oliphant, was convicted of raping an 18-year-old woman who he had lured to Promise Land in Mothibistad on December 14, 2012.
Police spokesperson Colonel Mashay Gamieldien said Oliphant ook the woman to an open field where he raped her twice.
“He also robbed her of her cellphone, valued at R2,000, and cash. He left her and fled the scene. The victim was able to report the incident and received medical treatment,” said Gamieldien.
She added that Oliphant was also convicted of the rape of a 29-year-old woman on July 12, 2013.
“The woman met the accused at a hiking spot next to the Kuruman court. Both the victim and the accused climbed into the same vehicle and when the car stopped he also got out with the victim. He then grabbed her and dragged her into an abandoned house where he raped her twice. He also stole her cellphone, valued at R3 000, and cash.”
Gamieldien said that Oliphant received bail on September 11, 2013 and was rearrested on September 9, 2020 after he absconded.
“His DNA was matched to both cases.”
She said Oliphant was sentenced on Wednesday for three counts of rape and two counts of robbery.
“His name has been recorded in the National Register for Sex Offenders. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.”
Mills commended the investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Sipho Andrease, for the meticulous and thorough investigation of the case which led to the successful conviction and sentencing of Oliphant.