Johannesburg - The Butterworth Regional Magistrate’s Court sentenced 20-year-old Zongezile Ngcuka to 20 years imprisonment for raping a seven-year-old girl, Eastern Cape police said on Thursday.
Spokesperson Captain Jackson Manatha said Ngcuka was sentenced on Wednesday.
"It is alleged that the accused person was a tenant at Zithulele Township, Butterworth. On the 12 March 2017 at about 6pm the accused person called a seven-year-old girl of the house owner to his room. The victim was raped by the accused. It came to the attention of the mother of the victim that her daughter was raped by the accused," Manatha said.
Acting Eastern Cape Police Provincial Commissioner, Major-General Andries Swart condemned the rape of children and women.
Manatha said Swart welcomed the sentence and was hopeful that it would serve as a deterrent to would-be rapists. Swart also commended the investigating officer of the case for properly investigating the case which led to a hefty sentence, said Manatha.