Byline: Nonjabuliso Nhlambo

25 September 2024

A 35-year-old man has recently been found guilty by the Secunda regional court for the rape of his cousin’s sister, who was 12 years old at the time of the incident.

The accused person was a nephew to the victim’s mother’s boyfriend, and the victim regarded him as a cousin brother who often visited.

It was evident in court during the state submissions that on the 9th of July 2021 there was a sexual penetration of the victim.

The state prosecutor stated during its final arguments that the parents went to a funeral in the Free State province and the victim was left with her siblings, of which the youngest was four years old at the time.

The accused person arrived at the victim’s residence, and as someone who visited often when the parents were around, upon his arrival he enquired if the children had eaten.

The children responded there was food in the house but needed to be prepared first. The accused then offered a R100 to the children to go buy food at a nearby garage but insisted the two brothers go to the garage and he be left with the victim behind.

While the two brothers went to the garage, the accused then proposed love to the victim, and when she kept quiet, he dragged her to the bedroom and allegedly raped her.

The state submitted that the evidence from the brothers was that when they left the house, the sister was left in the living room, but when they came back, the sister was no longer in the living room, and the accused person was approaching the living room coming from a passage leading to the bedrooms.

The state emphasized the accused knew the parents were not around and therefore took advantage of the victim; by giving out the R100, he was further advancing his advantage for him to execute his plans.

The accused was found guilty on the charge of rape, and his sentence will be handed down on the 8th of October 2024.