A 19-year-old man who raped and assaulted a Grahamstown woman in a street near her home was sentenced to nine years in prison last Friday in the Grahamstown Regional Court.
A 19-year-old man who raped and assaulted a Grahamstown woman in a street near her home was sentenced to nine years in prison last Friday in the Grahamstown Regional Court.
Akhile Mpukwana Adam was convicted of rape and assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm (Assault GBH) after magistrate Thembela Mata found he had attacked the woman from behind before assaulting and raping her on 16 August last year.
Adam had pleaded not guilty to both charges.
He claimed the woman, who cannot be named because she is a victim of rape, had consented to having sex with him.
The attack took place in the middle of the street just a few houses away from her home.
The woman had testified that she was walking home from a visit to her daughter, when Adam approached her from behind and ordered her to take her clothes off. When she refused, they struggled and Adam started assaulting her with a rock on the head.
He then raped her.
In his defence Adam told the court that he met the woman in an Extension 9 street, carrying a bottle of liquor.
He said they sat down and started drinking together.
Adam said they then started kissing and eventually had sex. A short while into the intimate act, according to Adam, the woman complained of pain and suggested they finish their business at her home.
The woman confirmed that part of Adam's version.
However, she explained that her suggestion to go to her house was a ploy to enable her to call for help.
When they got to her house, she called her son.
Her son saw the man carrying a knife and saw that his mother was crying.
In sentencing, Mata said youth was a mitigating factor. He said there were prospects for rehabilitation given the fact this was the first time Adam had been convicted of breaking the law.
He was sentenced to nine years in prison for rape and 18 months for Assault GBH. The sentences will run concurrently. anele@grocotts.co.za
