15 years in jail for 81-year-old who raped 6-year-old girl 17 years ago

An 81-year-old man from Balfour in Mpumalanga who raped a six-year-old girl in 2004 has been sentenced to a 15-year jail term.

The National Prosecuting Authority said the Secunda regional court last week sentenced the man after finding him guilty in November of rape and indecent assault of the girl, who is now 23.

The court sentenced the man to four years in jail for indecent assault and 15 years for rape. It ordered that the sentences run concurrently.

The NPA said that the victim was at a nursery school owned by the accused and his wife in Balfour in 2004.

“On the day of the incident, the accused coerced the minor girl to accompany him into a bedroom and promised to give her a packet of peanuts.

“When she entered the room, he locked the victim inside, tied her up, undressed her and raped her,” NPA spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said.

Nyuswa said the case was reported nine years later. She said the victim testified that the accused  threatened to rape her again should she report the rape ordeal to anyone.

Nyuswa said a forensic assessment report was also presented to court, including a J88 report proving that the victim was sexually assaulted.

She said during sentencing, the court found that there were compelling circumstances to deviate from a sentence of life imprisonment. The court took into consideration the accused’s age.

The acting director of public prosecutions in Mpumalanga, Adv Sonja Ntuli, applauded the prosecutor Tracy Keen Horack and the police for a successful prosecution.

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