Malmesbury court sentences rapists to six life terms for brutal attack
The Malmesbury Regional Court sentenced Denico Leander and Adriaan Pietersen to six life sentences for rape.
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The Malmesbury Regional Court has sentenced Denico Leander and Adriaan Pietersen to six life sentences for the rape of a 32-year-old mother in 2023.
The court also endorsed Acting Regional Court Prosecutor Kayline Andréa Nel’s arguments that their names be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders, for the victim to make representations regarding their placement on parole or correctional supervision and for them to be declared unfit to possess a firearm.
Nel proved that the victim and others were socialising and playing cards at the Old Scrapyard informal settlement, Malmesbury, on the evening of June 17, 2023, when they received a warning about an approaching gang.
While others fled or hid, the 32-year-old victim remained in the shack due to shock and confusion.
After entering the shack, the accused repeatedly raped her and then fled.
The woman described her attackers to the police, and they were arrested in the early hours of the next morning.
They pleaded not guilty and made no formal admissions.
As part of strengthening the State’s case, Nel called six witnesses and one of them, who had hidden in the shack, corroborated key aspects of the victim’s ordeal, including threats and forced sexual acts.
Additional witnesses later came forward and confirmed the events of that evening.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said in their testimony, the perpetrators attempted to discredit the victim, claiming she was a sex worker and that they had paid for consensual sex with her.
"Nel told the court that the accused’s efforts to undermine the victim’s character are a lack of remorse and a failure to appreciate the seriousness of the offence," said Ntabazalila.
"The victim was treated in a degrading and inhumane manner, resulting in profound emotional and psychological trauma, including fear, shame, and ongoing distress affecting her ability to care for herself and her children."
Ntabazalila said the court agreed and sentenced both accused to life imprisonment on each of the six counts of rape.
The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently in terms of Section 280 of the Criminal Procedure Act, effectively sentencing each accused to life imprisonment.