BURGERSFORT – A 28-year-old man was on Thursday 10 July 2025, sentenced to 16 years in prison by the Burgersfort Regional Court for raping a 12-year-old girl in Shushumela Section outside Burgersfort.
During the sentencing, the court found the accused, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, guilty of rape after he also pleaded guilty to the rape charges.
According to Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, Limpopo Provincial Police Spokesperson, said the incident occurred on 8 November 2024, when the victim was threatened with a knife and dragged to an abandoned house where she was repeatedly raped.
“The victim managed to escape the following morning and reported the incident to her family, who immediately informed the police. The police launched a manhunt and arrested the accused on 9 November 2024. The case was later transferred to the Burgersfort Family Violence, Child Protection, and Sexual Offenses Unit (FCS) for further investigation,” explained Ledwaba.
He said the accused was convicted and the court handed down a 16-year direct imprisonment sentence against him.
The Provincial Commissioner of the Police in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, welcomed the court’s decision, stating that perpetrators of such heinous crimes do not deserve leniency.
“According to me, perpetrators like this one do not deserve any leniency from our courts, even if such person pleads guilty. Justice should not be done but must be seen to be done in order to put a stop to these heinous crimes perpetrated against the vulnerable, particularly the children of this country who are deprived of enjoying their childhood pleasure,” she said.