Dros rape victim’s mother expected to testify against Nicholas Ninow

The mother of a seven-year-old girl is expected to testify in the rape trial of Nicholas Ninow in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday.

The trial got underway on Monday after Ninow pleaded guilty to raping the girl in the bathroom of the Dros restaurant in Silverton, Pretoria, on September 22, 2018.

He also pleaded guilty to defeating the ends of justice after he flushed her panties down a toilet as well as admitting that he was in possession of a banned substance, which later tested positive for CAT.

Ninow pleaded not guilty to assaulting Dros staff members after they caught him with the victim in the bathroom, while the State had withdrawn the kidnapping charge against him.

On Tuesday, the victim’s mother is expected to take the stand as well as the child sitter who looked after the children at the play area in the restaurant.

Prosecutor advocate Dorah Ngobeni did not accept the plea agreement’s version of events on Monday and asked that the case proceed to trial. The plea explanation was admitted as evidence.

The first witness called to testify was a waitress who did not want to be named. She served Ninow on the day in question.

The waitress testified he had consumed copious amounts of liquor and had seated himself close to the kiddies play area in the restaurant.

She also detailed how they found Ninow and the victim in the bathroom and alleged Ninow had tried to assault her with his belt.

His legal aid attorney, Herman Alberts, questioned the waitress on the alleged assault, stating his client’s version was that he had not assaulted anyone, but was assaulted himself by patrons after being caught.

The second witness, Johan Fourie, testified he had not known Ninow then but shared two drinks with him on that day. He said the accused was clearly high and drunk.

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