Man sentenced to life imprisonment for raping homeless woman

SASOLBURG.- The Sasolburg Regional Court has sentenced Thabo Maseko (32) to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of rape under Section 51(1) of the Minimum Sentences Act.

On September 16, 2021, the defendant, together with his unknown accomplice, found the victim warming herself by the fire on the street at night because she is homeless.

“When they realized that the victim was defenseless and homeless, they took advantage of her situation and started dragging her away,” said National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman Mojalefa Senokoatsane.

“They also started attacking the victim and accused her of being another woman they knew called Sibongile. The victim pleaded for her life and told them that she was not Sibongile as the accused knew this because they knew each other from Zamdela near Sasolburg.”

Senokoatsane added that while the unknown assailant was still pleading with the accused and his unknown accomplice, he started raping the victim and that the accused, instead of stopping this crime, also continued raping the victim.

“They then left her at the crime scene. The victim, who was not far from the police station, went and reported the incident to the police. The police were able to track down and locate the accused, who was known to the victim. He was arrested and charged with rape.”

According to Senokoatsane, the defense argued during the trial that this was not the worst rape case the court had ever heard and that the court should deviate from the maximum sentence.

“Regional Court prosecutor Ntombi Marase argued that there is no better or worse rape. Rape is a degrading and cruel act. The accused took advantage of the victim’s homelessness and disregarded her rights.”

Court Officer Kelly Mbasa assisted the 28-year-old victim in her victim impact statement, where she detailed how the rape had affected the victim and how the accused had shown no remorse despite her pleading with him since they knew each other. The victim also mentioned that her dignity had been stripped away and that she did not deserve what had happened to her.

In passing sentence, the court found that the accused and his unknown assailant had planned this gruesome crime when they followed the victim out of a tavern. The court ruled that the court should be careful not to accept any flimsy reason to deviate from the mandatory minimum sentence. There were no substantial and compelling circumstances that would have entitled the court to deviate from the mandatory minimum sentence and sentenced the accused to life imprisonment. The accused was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.

The National Prosecutor’s Office reiterated that all cases of sexual violence constitute an infringement on the victims’ rights to dignity and privacy enshrined in our Constitution, which is why the NPA is aggressively pursuing these cases.