Pretoria North man locked up for ‘consensual sex’ with his girlfriend’s little sister

A 28-year-old man from Akasia, north Pretoria, who claimed he had consensual sexual intercourse with his girlfriend’s 12-year-old little sister has been sentenced to life imprisonment for rape.

The victim, who cannot be named, was visiting her older sister in Akasia, where she lived with her boyfriend, when the older sister fell ill.

On 1 July, 2021, the victim accompanied her sister and her boyfriend to a clinic in Soshanguve, however, because of Covid-19 restrictions at the time, they only allowed the big sister, who needed assistance, inside the clinic.

Girl threatened to not tell anyone

Lumka Mahanjana, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson, said while the little girl and her sister’s boyfriend waited outside, the boyfriend urged the young girl to accompany him to a nearby veld, where he “undressed, raped, and threatened her not to tell anyone”.

Upon the trio’s return to the house from the clinic, the victim packed up her stuff, went home in the same area, and told her mother what happened. The mother, subsequently, reported the matter to the police.

The man was arrested on 3 November 2021, and remained in custody. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

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“Instead, he told the court that the sexual intercourse was consensual. However, the state prosecutor, Advocate Thamsanqa Given Twala, was able to dispel that evidence and prove that the man indeed raped the girl,” she said.

“The man was trusted by the girl; instead, he broke that trust.”

Victim’s school marks dropped after incident

Twala also read the victim impact statement into the record, where the girl’s mother said that her school marks dropped after the incident.

According to Mahanjana, during the sentencing hearing at the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court, Magistrate Pierre Wessels said that children hold the key to South Africa’s future and that a society without childcare is doomed.

Therefore, the courts have a duty to safeguard the rights of children.

“Therefore, the magistrate agreed with the state and said he did not find any substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from the prescribed sentence,” Mahanjana said.

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