LIMPOPO – Police in the province have welcomed the hefty sentences handed down by the Modimolle Regional Court, after two men were found guilty and convicted of rape.
On Wednesday, 24 June the court sentenced two men, aged 25 and 34, to life imprisonment for the rape of three children on separate incidents in the Modimolle area in 2015 and 2019, said Police Spokesperson, Brig Motlafela Mojapelo.
The 25-year-old man was convicted and sentenced for incidents in which he raped two girls, aged 16 and three, at the Mabaleng Squatter camp. In 2015, he raped a 16-year-old and in 2019 he raped a three-year-old toddler. In this incident he had requested accommodation at a house which belonged to one of his relatives. The same evening he went into the children’s room and raped the three-year-old victim and then left.
The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape of the toddler and 10 years for the rape of the teenager. Both sentences will run concurrently, said Mojapelo.
The second accused, aged 34, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape of his 12-year-old stepdaughter in Modimolle in 2016.
Acting Police Commissioner, Maj Genl Jan Scheepers commended the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offenses Unit for aiding in bringing these culprits to book. “These sentences should send a strong and clear message that the police will not sleep when the most vulnerable members of our society are grossly violated, but will continue hunting down those responsible,” he concluded.
Mojapelo adds that the names of the accused are withheld to protect the identity of the victims as they are related.
