Africa-Press – South-Africa. A 25-year-old North West man has been sentenced to life, plus five years for assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, for raping a 17-year-old pregnant girl on 20 July 2018.
The Schweizer Reneke Regional Court also declared Deon Neo Masetlo unfit to possess a firearm and said his name would be entered in the register of sexual offenders.
North West National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Henry Mamothame said Masetlo threatened the girl with a knife.
“He then instructed her to go with him to an unknown location, where she subsequently attempted to escape, but failed as she fell and injured herself. He then took out a knife and threatened her to the point that she gave in and walked with him,” said Mamothame.
Mamothame said, along the way, while Masetlo was walking with the girl, she saw people sitting outside in a yard, and she managed to run and ask for help.
However, he followed her and threatened some of the men reprimanding him.
“He subsequently assaulted the complainant and told the men that she was the mother of his children. He then took her to a house where he repeatedly raped her and only allowed her to leave in the morning after she promised to come back if he granted her permission to leave,” said Mamothame.
Mamothame said the girl only knew the accused by sight as one of the gang members in Ipelegeng.
The matter was reported to the police, and Masetlo was later arrested and denied bail.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
In aggravation of the sentence, the prosecutor, Mpho Sephapo, argued that the girl was 17 years old and pregnant, urging the court not to deviate from the minimum prescribed sentence of life imprisonment for Masetlo.
Sephapo further argued that the accused had an opportunity to leave when he was reprimanded at the house where the victim sought refuge.
Magistrate Patricia Rangwako agreed with the State and remarked that women and children had a right to free movement without fearing for their lives. She highlighted the important role that the court must play in protecting the most vulnerable members of society.
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
