Rape of a child is brutal, the emotional trauma is forever and it should never happen.
This was said in a statement by non-profit organisation, Women and Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA) following the recent sentencing to three life terms of child rapist Thabo Ditinti (32) by the Alexandra Magistrates’ Court. The sentencing featured in the Alex News article, Schoolgirls rapist, Ditinti gets life sentences, Week ending, 13 April.
Read: 20-year-old woman raped at a tavern in Orange Grove
“Now that this monster has been locked away, we hope the victims’ families can find closure and continue with their lives. We are immensely pleased with the sentence which should send a strong message that rape in South Africa will not be tolerated and the consequences if caught – are forever behind lock and key,” the statement read.
According to the organisation, the sentencing was also a relief despite continuous postponements for various reasons including Ditinti’s numerous interchanges of guilty and
not-guilty pleas, delays in victims’ testimonies due to malfunctioning intermediary equipment, questionable conduct by arresting officers and at times, the accused’s inconceivable appearance without legal representation.
Read: Dad accused of child rape remains in custody
Ditinti disguised his rape intent by luring the victims with lifts to their schools in his white Toyota Avanza taxi on 22, 28 and 30 September 2015 but, instead, deviated to Marlboro Cemetery where he raped them.The officers nabbed him in the third instance naked and on top of the unclothed 10-year-old victim. “On that most dreadful morning, the little girl’s life was changed forever.”
The arrest revealed his previous rapes of a six and seven-year-old victims. WMACA indicated that on one of them, Ditinti failed to penetrate her and instead, forced his penis into her mouth which is considered as rape under the Sexual Offences Act.
Read: 12 years for child rape
All three offences were solidified by irrefutable DNA evidence, arrest in the act of committing rape and results from trauma counselling of the victims by WMACA. This sealed Ditinti’s fate to ever see freedom again in his lifetime. He was also is barred from working with children and possessing a firearm.
Details: www.wmaca.org
