Butterworth - A man has been sentenced in the Butterworth Regional Court to 12 years in prison for raping a 12-year-old girl, Eastern Cape police said on Tuesday.
Goodman Simphiwe Balelo, 43, was convicted of raping the girl on October 31, 2012, at Ntlambonkulu location in Mgomanzi village, in Butterworth, said Captain Jackson Manatha.
Balelo was sentenced and convicted on Monday.
He had called the girl to his house, along with her friend who she was playing with, around noon on the day so she could clean his house.
“The two unsuspecting girls responded and went to the house of the accused, who is a neighbour of the victim,” said Manatha.
“Once the girls arrived inside the house of the accused, the other girl, who is related to the accused, was told to go away.”
The girl was told to stay in the house as she was going to clean it by herself. The man then locked the doors to the house and raped her.
“The accused gave the victim R2 and warned her not to tell any person about the rape,” he said.
“The victim broke her silence to her family about the rape. A rape case was opened and the then 41-year-old suspect was arrested and charged with rape.”
Sapa