Four life sentences are anticipated for a serial rapist who has raped 14 females, including six minors.
Jacobs Boase Kgatlane, 41, has terrorised the residents of Letlhabile, Britain, with his serial rapes. Between 2009 and 2013, the man raped fourteen females, according to the National Prosecuting Authority.
The majority of these rapes occurred at night, according to the regional NPA spokeswoman Lumka Mahanjana.
Lumka Mahanjana said, “He would target women walking at night, threaten them with a knife or tell them he has a gun.”
The serial offender dragged his victims to nearby bushes. This included stadium restrooms and abandoned locations, according to Mahanjana, where he assaulted them.
However, six of his victims were minors, the youngest of them was 14 years old. The age of his oldest victim is 37.
In August of 2013, the rapist was apprehended in Mpumalanga. He was located when an informant provided the police with his whereabouts.
In addition, a phone belonging to one of his victims was discovered in the custody of one of his family members, Mahanjana said.
She said, “He remained in custody since his arrest.”
The serial rapist was convicted of 10 charges of rape and 9 counts of aggravated robbery. However, he was acquitted of one count of rape and abduction due to the absence of a witness.
Friday, at his sentencing at the Brits Magistrate’s Judge, his legal defence team asked the court to impose a lighter term. This is due to the fact that the rapist has been in detention since 2013.
However, the state prosecutor informed the court that pre-trial detention should not be included as serious and compelling circumstances since doing so would negate the minimum sentence’s aim.
“[The prosecutor] told the court that women have a right to walk freely on the streets, go and come back from work without fear, which diminishes their quality of life. Therefore, he asked the court to impose the prescribed minimum sentence,” Mahanjana said.
Kgatlane was sentenced to four life sentences and eighty years of direct imprisonment. Additionally, he was declared unfit to possess a firearm.
“The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Advocate Sibongile Mzinyathi, said the sentence handed down fits the offence. The DPP thanked the work done by the SAPS investigating officer and the prosecutor that led to the conviction and this sentence. He also said he wanted to assure the community that the NPA remains committed in prosecuting crimes against women,” Mahanjana said.