DURBAN - A 34-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment on Monday for raping a pregnant 16-year-old. She was two months’ pregnant at the time and miscarried as a result of the injuries she sustained.
The Umzimkhulu Regional Court sentenced Mondli Kheswa to life imprisonment for rape, five years for kidnapping, five years for sexual assault and three years for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
KwaZulu-Natal police said Kheswa’s sentencing comes after the court heard how the accused kidnapped and brutally raped the teenager.
Captain Nqobile Gwala said the teenager had been asleep in her house in the Ngwagwane area in Intsikeni, on the south coast, when she was kidnapped by the accused on January 25, 2016, just before midnight,.
She was was forcefully taken to the accused’s house where she was assaulted and repeatedly raped.
Two days later, on January 27, 2016, she escaped and reported the matter to her elders. They took her to hospital.
“Intsikeni police officers were alerted and a case was opened. The docket was transferred to the Kokstad Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit who took over the investigation,” Gwala said.
She said the victim was two months’ pregnant at the time and she lost her baby due to the injuries that she had sustained.
Her attacker was arrested and appeared in court.
“He was granted bail and when the matter was finalised at court in 2019, he vanished. He has been on the run since then and was arrested again this year.
“He was held behind bars until he was sentenced. The sentences will run concurrently.”
THE MERCURY