The Verulam Regional Court handed a life sentence to a 21-year-old man for raping his 15-year-old mentally and physically disabled relative. | Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers
Durban — A life sentence has been handed to a 21-year-old man for the rape of his 15-year-old mentally and physically disabled relative.
The Verulam Regional Court sentenced the man to life imprisonment for raping his relative in August 2021.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in KwaZulu-Natal, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, said the accused lived in the same house as the boy and the boy’s sister and mother.
The boy is mentally and physically disabled and is unable to speak or take care of himself and relies on his mother for assistance and care.
She said when the incident happened, the accused was home alone with the boy.
When the boy’s younger sister came home, she saw her brother lying on his stomach on the bed with the accused standing naked behind him.
Even though she walked away, she reported what she had seen to her mother when her mother got back home. The mother examined the boy and suspected he had been penetrated.
“The accused fled to the Eastern Cape and was arrested a month later,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
She said the boy was taken to the Phoenix Thuthuzela Care Centre where he received the necessary support.
Ramkisson-Kara said that in court, prosecutor Ishara Sewnarayan led the testimonies of the boy’s sister, his mother, and a medical doctor.
Sewnarayan also handed in a Victim Impact Statement compiled by the boy’s mother and facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Bongiwe Qwabe. In it, the mother said that although her son is unable to speak out his emotions, he has nightmares. She also said she trusted the defendant when she let him stay with them.
“In conjunction with the life sentence, the court ordered that the accused’s name be entered into the National Register for sex offenders,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
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