Justice after more than a year

A 26-year-old man was sentenced to 33 years’ imprisonment for rape and aggravated robbery on September 11.

A 24-year-old victim was raped and robbed at gunpoint in December, 2012.

Although the suspect was sentenced to 33 years in prison, it is expected he will only serve 23 years of the prison term. According to a recent ruling by the Constitutional Court, the prescribed minimum sentence for robbery with aggravating circumstances ranges from 15 to 25 years.

On the charge of rape, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison and 15 years for robbery at gunpoint. The aggravated robbery sentence will run concurrently with the rape sentence for the first ten years of his prison term as ruled by the Regional Court.

A concurring sentence, quoted verbatim from The Free Dictionary is, “when a criminal defendant is convicted of two or more crimes, a judge sentences him/her to a certain period of time for each crime. Then out of compassion, leniency, plea bargaining, or the fact that the several crimes are interrelated, the judge will rule that the sentences may all be served at the same time, with the longest period controlling.”

The suspect was further declared unfit to possess a firearm in terms of Chapter 12 of the Firearms Act 60 of 2000. Section (1)(b) of the Act states the following: “The Registrar may declare a person unfit to possess a firearm if, on the grounds of information contained in a statement under oath or affirmation including a statement made by any person called as a witness, it appears that that person has expressed the intention to kill or injure himself or herself or any other person by means of a firearm or any other dangerous weapon.”

Despite the fact that it took more than a year and a half to find the suspect guilty, the FSC Unit is pleased with the sentence and promises to leave no stone unturned where justice is concerned.