Pretoria - The Atteridgeville family of the two minor girls who were raped at the Pretoria Hotel in 2020 said they were devastated that the convicted culprit continued to insist the girls volunteered to go with him to the scene of the crime.
This came after the counsel for the 46-year-old man convicted for kidnapping and raping the girls, aged 11 and 13, partially read out the psycho-social report in court as part of the pre-sentencing proceedings in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
The matter was postponed after the State advocate informed the court that she would be unable to proceed after midday due to an appointment.
However, before the adjournment, the defence read out the compiled report that detailed how the man had been convicted of assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm in 2011, as well as a conviction for rape in 2012.
For both cases he had received seven years each and had been out on parole, of which he had seven months left of his sentence when he was arrested for the rape of the girls in 2020.
The report detailed that he had a murder case for 2001, however the docket was allegedly missing. The man cannot be named as he was reportedly related to one of the girls.
Reading the report further, the court heard that the man claimed he was approached by the girls who insisted on going with him, even though he was drunk. He decided to go to Nkomo Village Mall to “buy them KFC” and then went to a pub in Sunnypark, with the girls volunteering to go with him.
He said even when he went to the hotel in Arcadia, he was still inebriated and could barely walk.
A family representative, who spoke to the media after the postponement, said the family was trying to be patient and let justice take its course.
The uncle of the two girls said: “We are frustrated with the delays because all we want is for the matter to be wrapped up so we can move on with our lives. It’s been two years since this thing happened.”
The family member, who cannot be named, said the family was devastated that the accused continued to allege that the girls volunteered to go with him, even after being convicted.
According to initial reports, the man took the two minors from Lotus Gardens in Atteridgeville, then took them to a liquor outlet in Pretoria West and thereafter to the Pretoria Hotel.
He booked them into a room and raped them.
The girls were rescued after the younger one escaped and alerted people who were in the hotel.
The matter is to continue on November 28.
Pretoria News