45-year-old man sentenced to life for rape of an 8-year-old minor

The Polokwane High Court, Limpopo has sentenced a 45-year-old man to direct life imprisonment for the rape of an 8-year-old victim at Taereng section in Dennilton.

The Court heard that on Saturday, 23 December 2023 the victim was sleeping with her family members who accompanied her aunt, who was a bride at a wedding at around 23:00,

It is further said that the accused offered his sisters-in-law a room to sleep, but he informed them not to lock the door because it had a problem unlocking.

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During the night, the suspect sneaked inside the room where the family was sleeping and lured the baby to another room where he raped her.

The victim’s family learned that the child was missing when they heard a screaming voice in another room. Upon inspecting the house, they found the victim naked and raped in one of the rooms.

She was taken to the hospital, and afterwards the matter was reported at Dennilton police station.

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The man made a first court appearance on the 27th of December 2023, where the case was withdrawn. However, on 16 January 2024, the DNA results came back positively linking the accused man to the sexual assault of the minor child.

A warrant of arrest was subsequently issued soon after the DNA results, and he was re-arrested at his workplace at Witbank in Mpumalanga province.

The matter was transferred to Polokwane High Court, where court proceedings continued from Thursday, 24 July 2025, to Friday, 25 July 2025, where the accused person was found guilty of rape.

 The case after a thorough trial, the accused was convicted and sentenced to direct life imprisonment for rape.