NELSPRUIT – A 49-year-old man has to serve jail time for having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl. Petros Khosa of Barberton was found guilty and sentenced in the regional court in Nelspruit on Thursday.
The matter was first reported to police in April last year as a rape case. The 15 year-old girl who had resided in the same area as the accused, stated that Khosa had raped her after being confronted by her mother.
Prosecutor Ms Magda Marais stated she eventually confessed that she had protected herself from her family and consented to the sexual relationship with Khosa.
Magistrate Mr Roelf Smith said due to the vast age difference and that the girl was still young, she was easily manipulated and groomed. He found Khosa guilty of statutory rape and sentenced him to five years imprisonment, of which he would have to serve at least 10 months.
In another statutory rape case, Marais said a stepfather of Hazyview, impregnated his 13-year-old stepdaughter. He had sexual relations with her since she was 12 years old. The matter finally came to light once she had her baby and visited her biological father.
He questioned her in regards to who the father of the baby was and she then told him it was her stepfather. The family did a paternity test which confirmed the stepfather was the father of her baby. Her biological father reported the matter to police in October 2010.
Magistrate Mr Willie Wilkens found the step-father guilty of statutory rape and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment. The stepfather cannot be identified as it would reveal the identity of the victim.
