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A 20-year-old man has been sentenced to four life terms for the rapes of four young boys, including his stepbrother.
The boys are aged between four and eight years old.
The Pietermaritzburg Regional Court sentenced the man after he pleaded guilty.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said that in his plea, the man had mentioned that he had been suffering from depression following a break-up with his girlfriend.
“He said that he had initially considered suicide, but decided to rape the boys instead. On the day of the incident, the children were playing outside his house when he called them individually into his room and raped them,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
The matter came to light when his stepbrother reported the rape to their father. The father then approached the other boys’ parents, and they all went to the Edendale Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC), where the matter was reported.
The NPA added that the children had received psycho-social intervention and holistic medico-legal assistance at the TCC.
The man was then pointed out to the police and arrested.
“He remained in custody, and the matter was proceeding to trial when he decided to plead guilty,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
In aggravation of sentence, prosecutor Yashania Manickum told the court that the man’s actions proved that he was a danger to society.
The prosecutor also submitted a victim impact statement compiled by one of the children and facilitated by the Court Preparation Officer, Thobekile Babongile Chuene.
In his statement, the boy said he did not understand why the man had raped him. He said he wished the court would punish the man so he did not do the same thing to anyone else.
“In sentencing the man, the court also deemed him unfit to possess a firearm and ordered that his name must be entered in the National Register for Sex Offenders,” added Ramkisson-Kara.
The NPA welcomed the sentence.
“We will continue to fight for justice for the victims of crime, especially the most vulnerable in society. We commend the work done by the prosecution and SAPS.”
Source News24
