Four rapists get life in jail for 2017 gang rape in PE

Four men have been sentenced to life in prison for the gang rape of a woman in Port Elizabeth in 2017. A fifth perpetrator, who was 17 and therefore a juvenile at the time of the rape, was sentenced to 25 years behind bars.

According to provincial police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg, on 20 April 2017, the victim was on her way home from a shop in Voissen Street in Gelvandale, Port Elizabeth, when she was accosted by a group of eight men.

They dragged her into an abandoned house and gang raped her.

Five suspects were arrested on 20 May 2017 and, after appearing in court, they remained in custody.

On Wednesday, the five accused were found guilty and sentenced.

Luther Jansen, 22, Luciano Classen, 24, Furdi Classen, 22, and Brendon Wildskiet, 23, were sentenced to life imprisonment.

A 19-year-old, who was 17 at the time of the crime, was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Liziwe Ntshinga has welcomed the sentences.

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