Primary school teachers sentenced to seven years in prison

If your daughter was raped, would you like the perpetrator to roam the streets?
The state prosecutor, Adv. Ditri Leijenaar put this question to the 49-year-old teacher convicted of the rape of a 27-year-old woman. The accused shed tears on the stand as he apologised to the victim, his learners, relatives and the community.
The 49-year-old and his 50-year-old cousin (also a teacher) were each sentenced to seven years imprisonment in the Potchefstroom regional court on Tuesday. Their defence advocate, Michael Ramoshaba, appealed the sentence as he felt that the magistrate, Ivy Serei, had not studied the evidence thoroughly and had erred in her judgment. He said his clients were not supposed to have been convicted, judging by the evidence brought to the court. He wants the matter to be handed over to the high court.
The two teachers first appeared on 19 October last year and were each granted bail of R1 000. According to the complainant’s statement at the time, she was dating the 50-year-old and went out for drinks with them (her boyfriend and his cousin). While the accused then admitted that alcohol had been consumed, she said it had been done in moderation. The three of them then went home for a few more drinks.
The woman believes she blacked out and does not know what happened thereafter. She says she woke up with her boyfriend’s cousin on top of her and her naked boyfriend lying next to them. She immediately walked alone at night and went to the police station and laid a charge of rape.
Leijenaar argued in court that the two accused should receive 10 years imprisonment because they had violated the victim’s constitutional rights to human dignity and to be respected and protected. She says the victim trusted, believed and relied on these people for protection. She never imagined she would be violated in this way.
The victim’s mother said every area of her daughter’s life has been affected. Her sense of control has been taken from her. She feels shock, grief and embarrassment. She has had a traumatic experience that has affected her emotionally and psychologically and, to make matters worse, by the people that she trusted.
After the incident, she could not go out in public for three months. She struggled to connect with people in good faith. She does not know whether people mean well or want to harm her.
In his arguments before sentencing, Ramoshaba said the magistrate should deviate from the prescribed sentence of 10 years because both are first offenders, alcohol played a role and they showed remorse. He also said they are divorced with children to take care of. The 50-year-old has been in the teaching profession for 22 years, while the 49-year-old has been in teaching for 24 years. The first accused has a small security company and his employees will suffer if a custodial sentence is implemented. Both of them are useful to society. They both have a clean record and have never had any complaints against them. He wanted them to get correctional supervision.
In response to the defence’s request for an appeal, magistrate Ivy Serei only granted leave to appeal to the 50-year-old accused whom she described as an accomplice in the rape of his girlfriend.
The 49-year-old and his 50-year-old cousin (also a teacher) were each sentenced to 7 years imprisonment in the Potchefstroom regional court on Tuesday. Their defence advocate, Michael Ramoshaba, appealed the sentence as he felt that the magistrate, Ivy Serei, had not studied the evidence thoroughly and had erred in her judgment. He said his clients were not supposed to have been convicted, judging by the evidence brought to the court. He wants the matter to be handed over to the high court.
The two teachers first appeared on 19 October last year and were each granted bail of R1 000. According to the complainant’s statement at the time, she was dating the 50-year-old and went out for drinks with them (her boyfriend and his cousin). While the accused then admitted that alcohol had been consumed, she said it had been done in moderation, she said. The three of them then went home for a few more drinks.
The woman believes she blacked out and does not know what happened thereafter. She says she woke up with her boyfriend’s cousin on top of her and her naked boyfriend lying next to them. She immediately walked alone at night and went to the police station and laid a charge of rape.
Leijenaar argued in court that the two accused should receive 10 years imprisonment because the victim’s constitutional rights of human dignity, to be respected and protected were taken away from her by the two accused. She says the victim trusted, believed, and relied on these people for protection. She never imagined she would be violated in this way. The victim’s mother said every area of her daughter’s life has been affected. Her sense of control has been taken from her. She feels shock, grief and embarrassment. She had a traumatic experience which affected her emotionally and psychologically and was worse because these were the people she trusted.
After the incident, she could not go out in public for 3 months. She struggled to connect with people in good faith. She does not know whether people mean well or want to harm her.
In his arguments before sentencing, Ramoshaba said the magistrate should deviate from the prescribed sentence of 10 years because both are first offenders, alcohol played a role and they showed remorse. He also said they are divorced with children to take care of. The 50-year-old has been in the teaching profession for 22 years, while the 49-year-old has been in the teaching profession for 24 years. The first accused has a small security company and his employees will suffer if a custodial sentence is implemented. Both of them are useful to the society. Both of them have a clean record and have never had any complaints against them. He wanted them to get correctional supervision.
In response to the defence’s request for an appeal, magistrate Ivy Serei only granted leave to appeal to the 50-year-old accused whom she described as an accomplice in the rape of his girlfriend.