Johannesburg - A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Naphuno Regional Court outside Tzaneen for raping a five-year-old girl, Limpopo police said on Sunday.
Masilo Phillip Maenetja, 28, was also handed a five-year jail term for kidnapping the girl, when he was sentenced on Friday, Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said.
Maenetja kidnapped and raped the five-year-old in Lephephane, Maake almost three years ago.
“The 28-year-old from the same area... grabbed the girl from the gate of her home, threatened her before forcefully dragging her to his house where he raped her for the whole night,” Mulaudzi said.
The girl told the police and the man was arrested.
“A life sentence and five years is the kind of sentence we strive for as police on cases of this nature,” acting provincial commissioner Major General Benny Ntlemeza said. - Sapa