Durban - A 33-year-old man has received double life imprisonment by the Madadeni Regional Court, for the rapes he committed between April 2017 and September 2018 in the Osizweni area in Newcastle.
KwaZulu-Natal National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the man accosted a 17-year-old girl.
“He took her to his house where he raped her twice and then fell asleep. She used her cellphone to contact her boyfriend who arrived at the scene with the police, and the accused was arrested. However, he absconded and a warrant of arrest was issued.”
She said that in September 2018, the man contacted a 21-year-old woman after they had exchanged contact numbers at some stage.
“He went to her house in a taxi and transported her to his house. Even though she told him that she wanted to go home, he ignored her and raped her three times before falling asleep. While he was sleeping, the woman contacted her family on her cellphone and they arrived with the police, subsequently arresting the man.”
Ramkisson-Kara said that in court, the man denied the rapes, saying that while he was in a relationship with both women, he did not have sexual intercourse with them on the day of the offences.
“The State, represented by regional court prosecutor Bonginkosi Don Motha, led overwhelming DNA evidence against the man. Motha also led the testimonies of the complainants, their boyfriends, family members and the doctors who tended to them post-trauma.”
Ramkisson-Kara said the one complainant had said it had been awful to have to call her boyfriend to come fetch her after she had been raped.
“The other said that she felt violated by the man's actions.The man was convicted accordingly. He was declared unfit to possess a firearm and the court ordered that his name be entered into the National Register of Sexual Offenders.”
Ramkisson-Kara said the NPA welcomed the successful prosecution.
“It is our mandate to prosecute and get justice for all. We hope that this sentence will deter like-minded individuals and we commend the prosecutor and the police on a job well done.”