Youngster found guilty of rape of two children

A YOUNG Mariental resident who has been on trial in the High Court on two counts of rape since early this month was found guilty on both charges yesterday.

The two incidents that brought the now 18-year-old convicted youngster into the dock in the High Court took place more than three years ago, when he was still a 15-year-old boy. In the first incident, it was alleged that he had raped a five-year-old girl at Mariental on September 30 2005.The second incident was alleged to have taken place on October 10 2005, when the young suspect was claimed to have raped a six-year-old boy at the Fish River near Mariental.The youngster denied both charges when his trial began before Acting Judge Alfred Siboleka at the start of this month.Yesterday, Acting Judge Siboleka found him guilty on both counts.With this verdict, the now convicted suspect’s continued freedom over the past three years, during which he remained free in the care of his father on a warning from the court, has ended.At the request of Deputy Prosecutor General Orben Sibeya, Acting Judge Siboleka cancelled the warning and ordered that the slightly built and still boyish-looking 18-year-old should remain in custody until he is sentenced.The youngster did not testify in his own defence during his trial.Recounting testimony heard during the trial as he delivered his judgement, Acting Judge Siboleka said both children who were raped knew the suspect.According to the girl, she was sitting on a bench outside her parents’ home in the evening when the boy approached her, threw her onto her back on the bench and raped her.The girl’s mother told the court that her suspicions were aroused when she noticed blood on her daughter’s underwear on the day after the rape.The boy told the court that he, the accused and two other boys had gone to the Fish River to fish and swim when he and the accused went off together to look for some tree gum to eat.He recounted that after he had climbed into a tree to collect some of this gum, the accused grabbed him, threw him to the ground and sodomised him.Back at home later that day, the boy’s mother also noticed blood on his underwear.In a statement that he made to the Police after his arrest, the young suspect admitted a sexual encounter with both children, but still denied having raped them.He made a similar claim when he first pleaded to the charges in the Mariental Magistrate’s Court.Acting Judge Siboleka said he was impressed by the two complainants, who in his view appeared to be intelligent for their age.He said they gave a frank description of what they said had happened to them, and he could not see any reasons why they would have falsely implicated the accused, whom they knew and were in the habit of playing with.As a result, he convicted the accused on both counts as charged.After the verdict had been given defence lawyer Unanisa Hengari told the court that he plans to call “quite a number of witnesses” to give evidence in mitigation of sentence.One of these is a State psychiatrist who had examined his client before the trial.The court is set to start hearing evidence in mitigation today.In the first incident, it was alleged that he had raped a five-year-old girl at Mariental on September 30 2005.The second incident was alleged to have taken place on October 10 2005, when the young suspect was claimed to have raped a six-year-old boy at the Fish River near Mariental.The youngster denied both charges when his trial began before Acting Judge Alfred Siboleka at the start of this month.Yesterday, Acting Judge Siboleka found him guilty on both counts.With this verdict, the now convicted suspect’s continued freedom over the past three years, during which he remained free in the care of his father on a warning from the court, has ended.At the request of Deputy Prosecutor General Orben Sibeya, Acting Judge Siboleka cancelled the warning and ordered that the slightly built and still boyish-looking 18-year-old should remain in custody until he is sentenced.The youngster did not testify in his own defence during his trial.Recounting testimony heard during the trial as he delivered his judgement, Acting Judge Siboleka said both children who were raped knew the suspect.According to the girl, she was sitting on a bench outside her parents’ home in the evening when the boy approached her, threw her onto her back on the bench and raped her.The girl’s mother told the court that her suspicions were aroused when she noticed blood on her daughter’s underwear on the day after the rape.The boy told the court that he, the accused and two other boys had gone to the Fish River to fish and swim when he and the accused went off together to look for some tree gum to eat.He recounted that after he had climbed into a tree to collect some of this gum, the accused grabbed him, threw him to the ground and sodomised him.Back at home later that day, the boy’s mother also noticed blood on his underwear.In a statement that he made to the Police after his arrest, the young suspect admitted a sexual encounter with both children, but still denied having raped them.He made a similar claim when he first pleaded to the charges in the Mariental Magistrate’s Court.Acting Judge Siboleka said he was impressed by the two complainants, who in his view appeared to be intelligent for their age.He said they gave a frank description of what they said had happened to them, and he could not see any reasons why they would have falsely implicated the accused, whom they knew and were in the habit of playing with.As a result, he convicted the accused on both counts as charged.After the verdict had been given defence lawyer Unanisa Hengari told the court that he plans to call “quite a number of witnesses” to give evidence in mitigation of sentence.One of these is a State psychiatrist who had examined his client before the trial.The court is set to start hearing evidence in mitigation today.