A MAN, Mohau Bennet Assegaai, 33, was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape and attempted rape of two elderly women in Galeshewe in October 2019.
The sentence was handed down in the Northern Cape High Court on Wednesday after Assegaai pleaded guilty to the charges against him.
Assegaai was also sentenced to 10 years for attempted rape and 15 years’ imprisonment for robbery with aggravated circumstances.
The incident happened on October 21, 2019, at 1am, when Assegaai, who is known to the two elderly victims, asked them to assist him as he needed to make an urgent call because his grandmother apparently needed medical attention.
He threatened them with a knife, assaulted them with his fists and robbed them of a substantial amount of cash.
He then raped the 79-year-old woman and attempted to rape the 76-year-old.
Assegaai handed himself over to the Department of Correctional Services in Bloemfontein and was later arrested by the Galeshewe Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit on October 25, 2019.
The police opposed bail and Assegaa remained in custody until his sentencing
All the sentences will run concurrently.
The provincial head of FCS, Brigadier Nicky Mills, commended the investigation officer, Captain Harriet Mckenzie of the Galeshewe FCS unit, for her investigation that led to the sentences.
“This assures that our communities, especially women, children and vulnerable persons, are safer with perpetrators such as Assegaai, behind bars,” said Mills.
