3 life sentences for KZN child rapist
A child rapist in KwaZulu-Natal has been handed three life sentences for the brutal violation of three girls, all under 12-years-old, in April last year.
The man, 27, cannot be named as it could identify his victims.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, says the sentences were passed in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court yesterday.
“The incidents took place in April last year in the Taylors Halt area in Pietermaritzburg. All three complainants in this matter were known to the accused. One was his niece, the other a neighbour and the third a relative of his girlfriend. Two of the children were 6-years-old while the eldest was 11-years-old,” she said.
“The accused, who was unemployed, lived with the family of the complainant and was tasked to take care of her when she came back from school. The second complainant was a friend and neighbour of the child and visited her after school. The accused raped the third complainant when he visited his girlfriend,” she said.
The parents of the children discovered the rapes after noticing that the girls were behaving unusually.
“One was reserved and would follow her mother around the house while the other started wetting her bed. The children were questioned and they revealed what the accused had done to them,” Ramkisson Kara said.
The court ordered that all three life sentences run concurrently.
"The National Prosecuting Authority welcomes this sentence. It is our mandate to protect the rights of the people of South Africa especially the most vulnerable our children,” she said.
(File photo)