Man gets 18 months for defilement

Lebogang Mosikare | Thursday January 23, 2014 15:46

The 22 year-old Shashemooke resident escaped the mandatory sentence of 10 years. Mulalu said the sentence would take into consideration 11 months that the accused spent in jail pending finalisation of the matter

Mulalu noted that the accused was 19 years-old and barely out of his teens when he committed the offence while the complainant was 15 years-old.

'The legislature calls for the mandatory sentence of 10 years in jail when there are no exceptional extenuating circumstances that may have caused the accused to commit the offence,' said the magistrate.

'It also protects girls under the age of 16 from crimes like defilement and rape. However, in my view I do not think that lawmakers wanted to punish offenders severely for committing such acts if they are teenagers,' he said.

Mulalu said he was also aware that youthfulness does not constitute an exceptional extenuating circumstance when passing the sentence.

He added: 'I found no aggravating factors in the matter at hand. The complainant and accused are more or less of the same age.

'I also took into account what the accused said in mitigation. I think it will be inappropriate to pass the mandatory sentence.'

Kagiso was found guilty of defiling the 15 year-old girl at Shashemooke village in 2012. Ogolotse Tampa from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions prosecuted.