Cape Town -
A 37-year-old man has been found guilty in the Western Cape High Court of raping three young boys.
He has been acquitted, however, on several charges, including attempted murder and one count of rape.
Enoch Bothata Lefuthane initially faced 15 charges in respect of incidents that took place between 2005 and 2012 in an area in the Eastern Cape, as well as in an area in Stellenbosch.
The incidents were alleged to have involved five boys who at the time were between the ages of six and 10.
At the close of the State’s case, Lefuthane was acquitted of four charges – one of abduction and three of indecent assault – relating to one of the boys.
Another of the boys had been kept at Lefuthane’s house against his will and forced on to the base of a bed as Lefuthane slept, but had not been raped.
When Judge Siraj Desai handed down his judgment on Thursday, he found Lefuthane guilty on seven counts: three of rape, three of abduction and one of kidnapping.
He acquitted Lefuthane on three counts of attempted murder, finding that there was no evidence that Lefuthane attempted to murder his victims. Judge Desai gave Lefuthane the benefit of the doubt, saying it appeared that the choking of the victims had been part of rape in order to subdue them.
Lefuthane was also acquitted of one of two rape charges relating to one of the boys, who was sodomised twice within a short period.
The boy testified to having been raped, then walking a short distance before being raped again.
Judge Desai was of the view that the two acts of penetration constituted one offence and that to hold otherwise would amount to a duplication of convictions.
“The accused had a single intent to rape. There was a short time span between the two acts and it happened more or less in the same place,” he said.
While the evidence of the complainants – who testified via video link and with the assistance of intermediaries – had been clear and detailed, Judge Desai described Lefuthane as an “appalling” witness.
He said Lefuthane’s version of the instances concerned were “simply not reasonably possibly true” and stood to be rejected as false.
In one instance, his defence had been a bare denial. In another, he had “surprisingly” conceded that he might have raped the child but contended that he was under the influence of cocaine at the time.
In outlining the evidence, Judge Desai also told of evidence that corroborated the versions of the complainants, such as DNA and medical evidence.
Lefuthane sat still in the dock as judgment was handed down – showing very little emotion other than a furrowed brow.
The case has been postponed to December 1 for the start of sentencing procedures.
The prosecution indicated that Lefuthane had a previous conviction of indecent assault, involving an eight-year-old child, dating back to July, 2007.
Cape Times