Court overturns 8-year term for ‘rape’

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Published Apr 21, 2014

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Pretoria - A man from Oberholzer on the West Rand, who was given an eight-year jail sentence after a woman 20 years his senior claimed he raped her, was given a reprieve by the Pretoria High Court when it overturned his sentence.

Sibusiso Simelane, 27, was earlier sentenced in the lower court for raping the 47-year-old woman, appealed against it in the high court.

Judge EM Kubushi said the version of the complainant raised many questions, such as her claiming her attacker came to her home naked and left naked.

Another factor was that a doctor found there was mixed semen in her, showing that she had had sex with more than one partner.

Yet the woman claimed she had last had sex 16 days prior to this incident.

According to medical evidence, the semen would not have remained in her body for such a long time.

The State’s case was that the woman was, on the day of the alleged rape accosted by Simelane while hanging out her washing.

He was said to be naked and she said he told her to be quiet and to undress herself.

She said she refused and he grabbed her and undressed her himself, before dragging her into the house and raping her.

She said that when he left, she screamed for help and a neighbour ran to her assistance.

According to Simelane, they had consensual sex after she borrowed R50 from him to buy matches and candles and promised to pay him back by having sex with him.

Simelane said the lower court should have never accepted the woman’s claim because the medical reports proved mixed DNA results, with his being one.

The complainant testified that she struggled with her attacker and that he tried to strangle her with a T-shirt. The doctor, however, did not note any injury when he submitted his report to court.

The judge pointed out that while she said she had screamed immediately after her attacker left the house, her neighbour heard her screaming from the yard.

When she got there, the woman was lying near the door of her shack crying and told her Sibusiso had raped her.

The judge said there were unexplained occurrences surrounding the alleged rape and overturned the sentence.

Pretoria News

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