Act of kindness turns to terror as Galeshewe woman raped by family friend

AN ACT of kindness turned into a horrifying ordeal for a 32-year-old woman from Galeshewe, after she was attacked and raped at knifepoint by a man she had trusted as a family friend.

The nightmare unfolded in the early hours of July 20, 2024, when the woman was awakened by a knock on her shack door. Recognising the voice of her visitor as that of 23-year-old Hughlin Swarts, a well-known family friend, she let him in and even offered him a place to sleep. Moments later, the evening of goodwill turned violent when she was strangled, threatened with a knife and raped.

The traumatised victim later managed to escape and reported the attack to the police. Swift work by officers led to Swarts’s arrest soon afterwards. He later abandoned his bail application and remained behind bars until the case concluded.

Northern Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Molefi Shemane said the Galeshewe Regional Court recently sentenced Swarts to 15 years’ imprisonment for rape. He has also been declared unfit to possess a firearm, and his name will appear on the National Register for Sex Offenders.

The Northern Cape provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Koliswa Otola, praised Detective Warrant Officer Butinyane Letimela of the Galeshewe SAPS Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit for his thorough investigation, and advocate Shareen Links of the National Prosecuting Authority for her collaboration in ensuring that the perpetrator of this heinous crime will remain behind bars for many years.

The sentence, police said, sends a clear message that violence against women will not be tolerated in the Northern Cape.