PARKTOWN – National Child Protection Week (29 May – 5 June) is commemorated annually to remind us that all children need to be protected against neglect, abuse, violence and exploitation. It is on this basis that the Provincial Commissioner of police in Gauteng, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela welcomed the recent lengthy sentence handed down to a child rapist.
On Thursday, 26 May 2022 the Palm Ridge High Court sentenced a 43-year-old accused to two life terms and an additional thirteen years’ imprisonment for the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl child. The accused was also found guilty for defeating the ends of justice and attempted murder.
The six-year-old child was playing with friends near her grandmother’s home in Sebokeng on Saturday, 31 July 2021 when the suspect lured her to his rented backroom which is not far from the victim’s home. The grandmother went looking for her granddaughter when she did not return home after playing at the neighbour’s house. Witnesses indicated that they heard the child crying inside the suspect’s room and the grandmother confronted him. The suspect subsequently felt “cornered” and stabbed the grandmother before he fled with a black refuse bag containing a heavy substance.
The police immediately launched a search to locate the missing child and suspect. Within 24-hours the police found the child’s body buried in a mine hole near her grandmother’s home, the suspect was traced and arrested a few days later.
The case was assigned to Captain Makonyane Piet Motsoeneng, a detective based at Sebokeng Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit. Motsoeneng meticulously pieced all the evidence together which resulted in a water-tight case against the accused in court.
Lt Gen Mawela commended the officer for leading quality investigation and the swift finalisation of the case. “This case was resolved and finalised within months, a clear indication that members of the South African Police Service remain committed in fighting crime against women, children and vulnerable persons,” said Lt Gen Mawela.
Source: South African Police Service