A Western Cape High Court judge yesterday found the ministers of justice and safety and security (now called the minister of police) liable for damages suffered by a five-year-old girl, saying the negligence of a Ladismith prosecutor and an Oudtshoorn detective led to her being raped twice.
The man who raped her, Ockert Steyn, is serving six life sentences – two related to the rape of the child in Oudtshoorn in July 2007.
The other life sentences relate to the rape of a 12-year-old girl from Ladismith, four times between 2006 and 2007. Steyn was arrested for the Ladismith rapes in March 2007, and on May 11 that year he lodged a bail application.
The investigating officer, Michael de Kock, was the only witness the prosecution called to testify and at the time he did not have a formal record of Steyn’s previous convictions.
Steyn had a previous rape conviction from 1999, for which he was sentenced to seven years in jail. He was released on parole, readmitted to prison in February 2005 for breaching his parole conditions, and ultimately released in July 2005.
When De Kock testified in Ladismith, he told the court that he had obtained unverified details of Steyn’s previous convictions from the police’s internal system, and handed them to the prosecutor. The prosecutor, however, did not bring these to the attention of the magistrate.
In addition, a statement by the rape victim that indicated the strength of the State’s case was not handed in to the court.
The magistrate granted Steyn bail the same day, but ordered that he could only be released once he had provided a fixed residential address in Ladismith.
He was released on his own recognisance on June 15, 2007.
Three days later police received a complaint that he had breached his bail conditions. But he was not arrested and, weeks later, he abducted the five-year-old girl from her home. He raped her twice, then left her on the doorstep of a stranger’s house.
The girl’s mother instituted the action the following year. She said in papers that her daughter had been severely injured from the rape, and had to undergo surgery. She also needed antiretroviral pills.
The mother, who may not be identified to protect the child’s identity, claimed R403 500 in her personal capacity, and R1.659m on behalf of her daughter.
However, the court was asked to first determine the merits of the case, and not to decide on a sum for damages.
In a judgment handed down yesterday, Judge James Yekiso said that if Steyn’s previous record had been tendered at the bail application, it would “no doubt” have been a factor which would have weighed heavily in the mind of the magistrate, particularly that he had violated parole conditions previously.
“The prosecutor has a duty to place before the court any information relevant to the exercise of the discretion with regards to the granting or refusal of bail and, if granted, any appropriate conditions attaching thereto… Arising from the negligent conduct of the prosecutor, Steyn was ultimately released on his own recognisance with the consequence that, while out on his own recognisance, he went on to perpetrate the brutal sexual assault on (the five-year-old) on July 9, 2007,” Judge Yekiso said.
He added that there was also no evidence to suggest that De Kock had pursued the complaint that Steyn had broken his bail conditions, “with any measure of vigilance”.
“In so doing, De Kock exposed (the five-year-old girl) to danger, with the resultant sexual assault on her in violation of her right to safety and security of the person,” he added. He ordered the ministers to pay costs.
Weekend Argus