Man gets 34 years for raping elderly woman and her granddaughter

The Welkom Regional Court has sentenced a 48-year-old man to 34 years behind bars for raping a 61-year-old woman and her 10-year-old granddaughter in Welkom in 2018.

According to Captain Stephen Thakeng, the woman and her granddaughter were sleeping when the man broke into their home, and raping them.

He overpowered them and raped them before fleeing the scene. A case of house breaking and two counts of rape was registered for further investigation. DNA tests were conducted, which led to the arrest of the rapist.

He was found guilty as charged by Welkom Regional Court, and sentenced to four years for burglary, and 30 years for two counts of rape.

The Acting Provincial Commissioner of Free State, Major Gen Solly Lesia applauded the investigator, Detective Warrant Officer Van Der Merwe for conducting a thorough investigation which led to the sentencing.

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In a separate incident in the same province, a 32-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his girlfriend’s daughter, aged 11, on 13 August 2020 at Phahameng, Bultfontein.

According to Thakeng, the girl was sent to her grandmother’s place the day before her body was found, but never arrived back home.

With the help of the community, the grandmother searched for the girl child, who was found at an open field, with her hands and feet tied up.

A case of murder was registered, and following an investigation, police arrested Tshidiso France Moifi, who was the boyfriend of the mother of the deceased child, 10 days later.

Moifi was found guilty for kidnapping and murder by the Bloemfontein High Court. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and five years for kidnapping. Both sentences will run concurrently.