Serial criminal gets 10 years for brutal rape

Lebogang Mosikare | Tuesday March 24, 2015 13:46

 

Passing sentence, Basupi said Shepherd Ananias had committed “a very serious offence”.  Ananias has previous convictions for assault, house breaking and burglary as well as possession of stolen property.

“The trend of men abusing women is continuing and increasing,” Basupi said.

“The circumstances in the matter at hand were very brutal. The accused raped the complainant during the same night using different sex styles. He tied the hands and legs of the victim when committing the offence. I have no doubt that he planned what he did.”

Ananias raped the complainant in some thickets at the Francistown Golf Course adjacent to Area A on September 1, 2012.

The victim had gone to Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) to buy food around nine o’clock at night after she ran out of gas whilst cooking at her rented place at the Gerald Estates. The accused was also present at KFC and started a conversation with complainant. Ananias told her that he was from Tanzania and offered her a lift back to Gerald Estates for P40.

“He parked the car inside the Golf Course and lowered the driver’s seat,” Basupi said.

“He suffocated the victim with his hat before tying up her mouth and her hands at the back with a mutton cloth. The accused further undressed the complainant and proceeded to have sex with her without her consent.”

Ananias was found to have force-marched his victim to a rocky area within the Golf Course where he again sexually abused her at knifepoint. He then took her to a pond where he told her that he would kill her.

“Ananias tied the complainant’s legs and hands and pushed her into the pond, leaving her there to drown.

“The victim miraculously managed to untie the mutton cloth and was later rescued by a good Samaritan who called the police,” the magistrate said.

The accused was arrested after he was found still at the first crime scene attempting to fix a mechanical problem on the car. He failed to explain why the victim’s belongings were inside his car.

The magistrate dismissed as an afterthought Ananias’ defence that the victim was a disgruntled prostitute, saying this did not explain why he had tied the complainant up.   Inspector Mengistu Chigala represented the state in the matter.