A 23-year-old Beaufort West farmworker has lost an appeal against a life imprisonment sentence imposed for raping a 10-year-old girl.
|||Cape Town - A 23-year-old Beaufort West farmworker has lost an appeal he had lodged against a life imprisonment sentence imposed after he raped a 10-year-old girl.
The girl and her friends were playing near a sewerage reservoir on June 3, 2014 when Charl September and a 17-year-old accomplice approached them and reprimanded them for not being in school.
September had several dogs with him when he ordered the young girl and her friends to undress and swim in a nearby river before he instructed her to lie down in the bushes where he raped her.
The girl and her 16-year-old cousin were also raped by the 17-year-old.
In May last year, after he pleaded guilty to the rape, September was sentenced to life imprisonment, while his co-accused was sentenced to an effective 20 years behind bars.
September appealed against the sentence.
In his judgment on the appeal, Western Cape High Court Judge Owen Rogers said the court heard evidence that, aside from extensive physical injuries, the child had nightmares, was afraid to move around in her community and had a negative view of men.
She suffered from headaches and bladder pain and had to attend hospital almost monthly for treatment.
A social worker said the girl had suffered serious emotional damage and her teacher described her as completely withdrawn.
Referring to the day of the rape, Judge Rogers said it was clear the girl and her friends were scared of September and his juvenile accomplice when they asked them why they were not at school.
“It was clear that she was scared and would do anything he asked. Intercourse was not consensual. He was much bigger and stronger than her and it appeared she was scared of his dogs.”
He said he could not fault the magistrate’s findings. “A life sentence cannot be said to be disproportionate to the crime, the criminal and the legitimate needs of society. The rape was a horrific one, causing the victim serious injury and pain. It was preceded by the frightening and degrading experience of having been forced by the accused, who had dogs with them, to go to the river, take her clothes off and swim.”
Commenting on the argument that September had been only 21 when he committed the offence, Judge Rogers said the evidence did not suggest September was immature to an extent that it could succeed as a mitigating factor.
Judge Rogers said while September’s socio-economic and domestic circumstances were far from ideal, there were many people in South Africa who were exposed to similar environments but did not resort to crime.
He described the remorse September had shown as “perfunctory to say the least”.
“The probation officer’s view was that (September) had not demonstrated real insight into the seriousness of his crime and its impact on the victim and her family; he was more worried about the legal consequences for himself and the financial effect on his family.”
In addition, the 11 months he spent awaiting trial was not an unusually long time.
“The magistrate was rightly appalled by the crime and undoubtedly impressed by the community's outrage, but I do not gain the impression he abdicated his responsibility to determine a just sentence.
“Balancing the relatively meagre mitigating factors against the aggravating circumstances, I am satisfied he came to the right conclusion.”
Acting Judge Penny Magona concerred.
Weekend Argus