File picture: Ayanda Ndamane, African News Agency (ANA) Archives
A 64-YEARr-old man was sentenced to 18 years in prison for raping an eight-year-old girl in Galeshewe.
On Saturday, April 9, 2022, the accused visited his friend in Vergenoeg, Galeshewe, at around 9pm.
The eight-year-old female victim's father went to fetch something at his neighbours’ house, leaving the victim with the accused in the house.
“When the father returned from the neighbours’ house, the victim reported to her father that the accused had raped her,” said police spokesperson Sergeant Molefi Shemane.
Shemane added that the police were notified, a case docket was opened and the accused was arrested for rape.
Shemane said that on Friday, September 29, 2023, the accused was found guilty and sentenced to 18 years direct imprisonment by the Galeshewe Regional Court.
The Northern Cape provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Koliswa Otola, commended the investigating officer, Detective Warrant Officer Aretha Claasen, for “her outstanding investigation that led to the conviction and sentence of the accused”.
Otola noted that violence perpetrated against vulnerable members of society will not be tolerated, especially against women and children.