The Cape Town Regional Court in Western Cape has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for the rape of a minor relative and infecting her with HIV. The man who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim was sentenced on Wednesday.
The court convicted the accused from Dunoon township, outside Cape Town, on a charge of rape and attempted murder after finding that he knew his HIV status when he raped the girl. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Eric Ntabazalila said that the court sentenced the 42-year-old to life imprisonment for the rape and 10 years direct imprisonment for the attempted murder. "The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently and also ordered his name to be entered into the National Register of Sex Offenders which prohibits him from working with vulnerable groups and he may not apply to adopt a child or be a foster parent. If he wanted to, he must disclose the sentence against him. Failure to declare is a criminal offence punishable with a direct prison sentence or a fine. He must inform future employers of the sentence and the orders handed down by the court which also declared him unfit to possess a firearm," he said.
Ntabazalila further said that during the trial, sexual offences prosecutor Ruwayda Badrudeen told the court that the accused raped the then 7-year-old victim as she lay on the couch watching television. "She did not tell anyone about what happened, as she saw him as her uncle. A few weeks later, she was taken to a local clinic as she was not feeling well. Medical examination discovered that she had sexually transmitted diseases (STD) with HIV tests coming back negative. She did not reveal what had happened and the doctor requested that she be brought back a few weeks later for further tests. The second HIV test came back positive." The investigating officer, Sergeant Luvuyo Simphiwe Goya in Milnerton attempted to get her to reveal what had happened. One morning he took the victim's grandmother to her school and the victim came to the investigating officer's vehicle. She was again asked what happened and she revealed that the accused raped her. He was arrested on 7 September 2016 and charged with rape. There was no DNA as the incident was reported after the 72-hour window period and therefore no exhibits could be obtained." Ntabazalila said that the accused's initial version to his attorney was that he was gay and therefore could not have raped the child.
The accused subsequently indicated that if the State could prove that the HIV strain that the child contracted was the same as he had, he would plead guilty. Badrudeen was put into contact with Dr Koresman, a forensic virologist at Groote Schuur Hospital who analysed three viral loads of blood and the rest were sent to Tygerberg Hospital for analysis. The results took a while to finalise but came back positive. "The accused brought a bail application and was released on house arrest and went to live with his brother. He then allegedly raped his brother's nine-year-old daughter and will appear at Cape Town Regional Court on 06 November 2023 for this case," he said. Ntabazalila said that the arrest was not the end of the challenges facing the case as the victim struggled to testify about what happened to her. "Court Preparation Officer, Babalwa Hlathana provided court preparation services and encouraged her to speak out. In her Victim Impact Statement, the now 14-year-old said she always cried
at night as she has a wound she knows will never heal. He not only raped her, but he also infected her with HIV and she must drink tablets every night. Her life will not be the same again and she will not forget what happened," he said.
