Nine suspects were sentenced to life imprisonment and 370 were imprisoned for GBV following the swift work by detectives at KwaZulu-Natal Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Units, last month.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker explained that the victims’ ages ranged from one-day-old to 53 years of age, while the ages of those accused of these heinous crimes ranged from 22 to 59.
“Most of those who were sentenced were accused for sexual assault, rape, kidnapping, child abandonment and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.”
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More than 360 arrests were also affected last month with most of those accused being related to their victims.
“Detectives at the FCS Unit are pleading with women who do not wish to raise their new-born babies to use adoption facilities or leave their newborns at facilities that have been established for this purpose. Detectives are faced with too many cases where newborns are thrown into waste bins or left in bushes where they die,” added Naicker.
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The KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner, Lieutenant General Khombinkosi Jula applauded the FCS Unit investigators for their dedication in putting sexual offenders behind bars and bringing closure to victims of these crimes.
“We urge victims of gender based violence to report their cases to police. The sentences meted out by the courts are encouraging and is an indication that the perpetrators of these crimes cannot escape the full might of law. While the wheels of justice sometimes turn slowly for good reason, victims of these crimes can be assured that their cases are in the capable hands of highly trained officials who are dedicated to deal with such cases,” he said.
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