Gauteng Deacon Convicted for Raping Wife’s Niece, 10, to Life Imprisonment

• A deacon has been handed a heavy sentence after the Pretoria Magistrate's Court found him guilty of raping a minor
• The church member and former public servant abused his wife's then 10-year-old niece while moving house in 2017
• At the sentencing, the magistrate ordered his name to be added to the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO)

TSHWANE — The Pretoria Magistrate's Court has sentenced a church deacon to life in prison for raping a minor.

The International Assemblies of God Church member is also a former Public Service and Administration Department employee.

Deacon gets life for raping minor

The court on Friday, 1 November 2024, heard that the 61-year-old child abuser raped the 10-year-old, who was staying with him and his wife, her aunt, while moving house to Mamelodi in Tshwane, Gauteng, on 17 November 2017.

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"After the rape, he instructed her not to report the incident, claiming they were simply playing a game," said Gauteng National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana.

However, his wife became aware of the harrowing abuse a year later, reporting it to police on 18 November 2018. The deacon was arrested on 2 February 2019.

"He pleaded not guilty in court and suggested that his wife was conspiring to get rid of him. Despite this, there was compelling evidence to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," said Mahanjana.

"Later, during sentencing, he asked the court to consider placing him under correctional supervision [instead]. The state opposed this."

A Victim Impact Report (VIR) by social workers revealed the extent of the psychological and emotional trauma suffered by the now 17-year-old teenager.

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The accused's wife also noted in a VIR how the incident had led to the breakdown of her marriage and its impact on the family dynamics.

"The magistrate found that the aggravating circumstances outweighed the accused's personal circumstances [in mitigating for a lesser sentence].

"The court deemed the imposed sentence appropriate and reflected the seriousness of the crime," added Mahanjana.

The court declared the accused unfit to possess a firearm and ordered his name to be captured in the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO).

Ex-cop gets life term for minor's rape

In related news, Briefly News reported that the Zwelitsha Regional Court meted out a life imprisonment term to an ex-senior cop for rape.

Mzukisi Landu was found guilty of multiple offences against his wife's niece, whom he threatened to kill if she spoke of the sexual abuse.

Source: Briefly News