A 33-year-old man, Onkabetse Modibedi, has been convicted for defilement by the Mogoditshane Magistrate's Court after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl.
The complainant was alleged to have been defiled in 2019 during the festive season after being harboured by her boyfriend for four days.
Delivering his judgment in an open court, Chief Magistrate Gofaone Morweng said the state was able to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the accused was the perpetrator.
“There is no doubt that the complainant and the accused engaged in a relationship of a sexual nature and it resulted in the birth of a child,” Magistrate Morweng said.
Magistrate Morweng further said the prosecution was able to prove its case as it established that the accused was the biological father of the child, which was the result of said defilement.
“After the child’s birth, the complainant, the accused, and the child were taken to the clinic for blood sample collection. It was concluded that a biological relationship was confirmed between the DNA profiles obtained from the reference blood samples labelled the complainant and the child,” he said.
Furthermore, “a biological link was identified between the DNA profiles from the blood sample of Modibedi and the child”.
As the accused tried to reason that he was lied to about the real age of the complainant, the magistrate ordered that the accused could not possibly defend himself with such a notion.
He further said it cannot be disputed that at the time of defilement, the victim was just a minor.
“The certificate indicated that she was born on April 2, 2002. When she became a victim, she was 17 years old. I therefore believe that the complainant’s age was proved beyond reasonable doubt,” the magistrate said.
Moreover, Magistrate Morweng said the complainant appeared to be an honest individual.
“I assessed the complainant as a credible individual who testified consistently and showed reliability in both her direct evidence and cross-examination,” he said.
Further obliterating chances of Modibedi walking free, the magistrate said the fact that the complainant has two children, who are a result of rape, cannot be used against her, as in fact they show how she has been a victim for the longest time.
“I must put it into perspective that the fact that the complainant gave birth to twins at the age of 14 years does not mean that she was emancipated in any manner,” he said.
Based on the established findings, the magistrate convicted the accused.
“The accused Onkabetse Mokibedi is convicted of a single count of defilement contrary to Section 147 (I) of the Penal Code (As amended),” Morweng ordered.
