"Loathsome" and "appalling" were the words Judge Jeremy Pickering used on Wednesday when handing down life sentences to the three men who gang raped a schoolgirl last year.
"Loathsome" and "appalling" were the words Judge Jeremy Pickering used on Wednesday when handing down life sentences to the three men who gang raped a schoolgirl last year.
Christo Bosch, 19, Deon Walters, 25, and Justin Goba, 21, were found guilty of rape and robbery with aggravating circumstances, they were also charged with assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. They received life terms, plus additional sentences in the Grahamstown high court.
The victims were a 19-year-old matric pupil and her male companion, who were on their way home from a tavern in April last year when they stopped and entered a deserted house in Fitchat Street, on the northern outskirts of Grahamstown.
The three men, along with Jamie Goba, 19, who pleaded guilty to all charges and then turned state witness, followed the couple into the house and threatened them with knives. They then dragged the girl to another room, tied her hands behind her back and gang-raped her repeatedly. Her companion was severely assaulted and the men robbed them both.
Judge Pickering said the victims must have suffered severe devastation because of the three. The girl had left school after the ordeal, because she was too afraid to leave home.
In court, the judge said, “Rape is a loathsome act, it is appalling. There was gross invasion of human dignity, and the accused showed no remorse for their actions.”
All three were sentenced to life terms for rape, plus an effective 35 years imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
The girl's father mentioned that he was happy with the sentence, and said, “We can now move on with our lives.”
