Man gets 25 years for rape and kidnapping

Isaac Morris in court on Tuesday. Picture: Soraya Crowie

Isaac Morris in court on Tuesday. Picture: Soraya Crowie

Published Jul 6, 2016

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KImberley - A 41-year-old Jan Kempdorp man was sentenced to a combined 25 years in prison after he was found guilty on one charge of rape, two of assault as well as the kidnapping of three minor children, aged nine, 12 and 15 years.

Isak Morris appeared in the Hartswater Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

Morris was convicted of raping the 15-year-old girl on October 3, 2011 and for assaulting the nine-year-old boy with a spade as well as attempting to stab the 12-year-old boy with a knife.

The incident occurred after Morris invited the children to his house to cook chicken and mealie meal.

According to testimony presented in court, the girl screamed when Morris penetrated her and he put his hand over her mouth to keep her quiet, while also holding a knife in his other hand.

The two boys escaped through the window and reported the incident to the mother of the girl.

Morris’s defence attorney, Olaotse Bojosinyane, during mitigation, argued that the minimum applicable sentence, which is life imprisonment, should not be considered for the rape charge as the offence had no elements of violence.

“The doctor testified that the injures the girl sustained were superficial. Most of the injuries were not life-threatening. This was not a case where a person was raped by another person, dragged behind a vehicle and then raped again in another area,” Bojosinyane said.

He asked the court to also take the period of time Morris spent behind bars into consideration.

“The accused was arrested on February 8, 2012. He was in custody until February 2014 awaiting trial. That is more than two years in custody. He was later granted bail,” he said.

State prosecutor, Cornelia Deetlefs, however, said that rape could not be classified as a non-violent crime.

“Rape is one of the worst crimes that can be committed to a person ... it takes from a victim something that cannot be replaced. One can heal from a wound but it not easy to heal from emotional scars.

“The accused was found guilty of rape, two counts of assault and three counts of kidnapping and all these crimes are violent,” Deetlefs said.

She added that there were no compelling circumstances for the court to deviate from the minimum applicable sentence.

“The defence said that the accused is the father of four children, two of whom are minors. However, he was not thinking of his children or anyone else when he raped the girl. He knew what he was planning when he took the children to his house.

“The children were inflicted with fear when he threatened them and assaulted them. Morris did not come to court and apologise for his actions. He deserves no sentence other than life in prison,” she said.

Magistrate Nomfuneko Mbalo said Morris had betrayed the trust of the children.

“His actions cannot be seen as anything else but repugnant. The children were invited by him to his house. They were petrified of the sudden monster that he became. One can be thankful that the boys escaped without injury, although it was different for the girl,” Mbalo said.

She said Morris had abused his authority over the children. “He was 34 years old at the time of the incident. There is a great age-gap between himself and the girl - to the extent that he could have been the biological father of the girl.

“Due to the relationship between him and the mother of two of the children, he was supposed to protect the children. Instead the girl was ravaged by Morris.

“Other than the physical scars, there are also emotional scars the child suffered, which was evident when she gave her testimony and was crying. No rightful member of society would condone the behaviour of the accused,” she said.

She said she however found that life-imprisonment was too harsh a sentence to impose on Morris.

“One aspect that counts in his favour was the fact that he was incarcerated for a lengthy period while awaiting trial.”

Mbalo sentenced Morris to three years’ imprisonment on each of the three charges of kidnapping, six months each on the two charges of assault and a further 15 years on the rape charge.

The charges will run concurrently and Morris was declared unfit to possess a firearm.

Morris appealed his conviction after sentencing.

DFA

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