An SANDF soldier will serve 20 years imprisonment after he was convicted of raping a 15-year-old.
Image: File picture
A 35-YEAR-old former South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldier, Peace Mashile, was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment after he was found guilty of raping a 15-year-old girl who was staying at the Inggreas Avenue army base in Alexander Bay with her mother.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane said the mother of the child was also a soldier and the superior of the accused.
"The accused knew the child as they both resided at the same army base. They would see each other almost daily when she went to and from school. He also saw her playing around the army base, where the child called him Uncle Peace. The accused was posted as the guard at the gate of the army base."
He added that on the fateful night of the incident on December 9 2019, the accused climbed through a hole in the bedroom window where the girl was sleeping.
"The complainant woke up and felt the cold hands of the accused touching her and found the accused on top of her. The accused covered her mouth with his hand when she tried to scream and choked her until she was unable to resist. The accused proceeded to rape the girl while her cousin was sleeping next to her on the same bed. The accused told her to remain quiet and left the room through the window that he had used to gain entry."
Senokoatsane stated that the girl noticed blood on the tissue when she wiped herself when she went to the toilet.
"She saw the accused still lingering outside her room. She ran to her mother’s room and woke her up to inform her what happened and inform the mother as well as the clothes that he was wearing when he raped her. Her mother thought that she was having a nightmare when her cousin indicated that she did not notice anything while she was sleeping next to her during the incident."
He indicated that the girl's mother met the accused as she was on her way to work the following morning.
"She asked the accused to accompany her to his room without divulging the reason why and asked him what he was wearing the previous night.
"The accused indicated that he was wearing the same clothes that he was wearing. However, the girl's mother found the clothes in his room that were described by her daughter. She insisted that the matter be reported to the police as SANDF officials wanted to deal with the matter internally."
Senokoatsane added that the case was diligently investigated by Sergeant Shaun Brandt from the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit in Port Nolloth.
"DNA evidence recovered from the girl’s clothing was conclusively linked to the accused. At the commencement of the trial, the accused pleaded not guilty. His fabricated defence was rejected by the court following a thorough and credible prosecution. The accused was also linked to the crime through forensic evidence, as DNA was also obtained from the girl's sanitary product."
He stated that the State prosecutor, Basil Kock, argued that the accused violated the dignity of the girl and also betrayed the trust of the girl, her family, his employer and broader society.
"The social worker who compiled the victim impact report testified about the extensive emotional, physical, psychological and developmental trauma suffered by the child.
"The report detailed how the child’s school performance declined, while she experienced anxiety, sleep disturbances, and fear. She no longer felt safe in her home and community. The trauma further affected the entire family, prompting the mother to resign from her post and relocate to Pretoria."
Senokoatsane said the court agreed with the State that there were no substantial or compelling circumstances existed to deviate from the prescribed sentence of life imprisonment.
"The accused was sentenced to 20 years of direct imprisonment by the Port Nolloth Regional Court. The court further ordered that the accused’s name be entered into the national register for sex offenders. He was declared unfit to possess a firearm and he was declared unfit to work with or have access to children.
"The NPA commends the girl for her bravery, her mother's unwavering pursuit of justice, and the prosecution and investigation teams for their outstanding work. The NPA reaffirms its commitment to the fight against gender-based violence and the protection of vulnerable groups, particularly children. The NPA will aggressively prosecute all cases of sexual violence that encroach on the rights to dignity and privacy of the victims as enshrined in our Constitution."