Nicholas Ninow has been found guilty of the rape of a seven-year-old girl in Silverton last year.
Judge Papi Mosopa delivered the judgement in a packed Pretoria high court on Monday.
Ninow was also found guilty on charges of drug possession and defeating the ends of justice. He was acquitted on a charge of assault.
Delivering the judgment, Mosopa said the state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ninow had indeed assaulted the two Dros restaurant staff members.
Ninow’s trial started last week Monday, 9 September, and closing arguments were heard on Friday. Six witnesses testified, including the now eight-year-old victim and her mother.
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Ninow was accused of raping the minor by forcefully inserting his genitals into her mouth and later penetrating her vagina with his finger.
In the plea agreement read in as evidence, Ninow claimed the little girl found him in the middle cubicle in the female bathroom snorting a drug commonly referred to as CAT.
Ninow was arrested on 22 September 2018, at the Dros restaurant in Silverton, east of Pretoria.
Pre-sentencing arguments were set for 16 and 17 October 2019.
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