A man whose ex-girlfriend was the target of his jealous rage in a two-day horror ordeal, was sentenced to life in prison in the Grahamstown High Court on Monday.
A man whose ex-girlfriend was the target of his jealous rage in a two-day horror ordeal, was sentenced to life in prison in the Grahamstown High Court on Monday.
Shane de Bruyn, 41, kidnapped his 21-year-old former lover in the Shoprite parking lot and repeatedly raped and assaulted her over the two days in May, beginning at a remote spot near the Manley Flats turn-off on the N2.
He tied her to a tree, assaulted her and raped her, before fetching his car and taking her to a local hotel, where he raped her again. The next day he put her on the back seat of his car and drove her to East London, later returning to Grahamstown.
"She has only one life," was Judge Mandisa Kahla's reply to defence counsel Andre Swart's argument that De Bruyn's actions had not been premeditated and that the man had been severely provoked when he saw his ex-girlfriend in the car of her colleague, with whom he suspected she was having a relationship.
“He has only one life, and sending him to prison for life will end his life,” Swart argued. Judge Kahla replied: “So has the complainant. She has only one life. She had to undergo psychological intervention after her ordeal,” she said.
Judge Kahla said rape was a horrendous crime and that the complainant had been so severely assaulted that she'd lost hearing in her right ear. “This was no ordinary rape,” said Kahla. The judge agreed with state prosecutor Nickie Turner when she argued that there was no prospect of rehabilitation for De Bruyn, who had displayed "not a shred of empathy" for the young woman.
Judge Kahla sentenced De Bruyn to life for rape, four years for kidnapping, and a further 10 years for assault with intent to commit grievous bodily harm. The sentences will run concurrently.
