Man to rot in jail for human trafficking and rape in North West

File picture: Pexels

File picture: Pexels

Published Sep 3, 2019

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Rustenburg - A 43-year-old man was handed two life sentences in the Lichtenburg Regional Court for human trafficking and the rape of a 14-year-old girl, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) said on Tuesday. 

Spokesperson Captain Tlangelani Rikhotso said Phillips Malope was sentenced on Monday.

"It is alleged that in January 2018, the accused took the victim from Mozambique, after convincing her parents that he was offering her employment at his home in Thabazimbi. 

"The suspect took the victim to Coligny instead, where he was employed as a security guard and occupied a one-room with his girlfriend," Rikhotso said.

The girl was made to sleep on the floor in the same room with the couple and she would be woken up in the early hours of the morning to clean, wash clothes belonging to the couple and cook for dogs. 

Rikhotso said the man raped the girl when his girlfriend was not at home,  but one night she caught the suspect raping the victim in the nearby bushes and immediately called the police. 

The police arrested the man and he remained in custody until he was sentenced on Monday. 

"The victim was taken to a place of safety where she is receiving ongoing counselling,"  Rikhotso said.

African News Agency (ANA)

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