NPA case administration failure allows child rapist to roam free
30 September 2024
A child rapist has been free and active in society for more than two years because his appeal against his conviction was not referred to the Pretoria High Court. It required intervention from AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit for the National Prosecuting Authority to do their jobs. The matter will now be heard on 17 October 2024 and hopefully bring closure for the victim and her family. The rapist cannot be named because this could indirectly identify the victim, who was a minor at the time of the offence.
The case has highlighted a trend in which matters referred for appeal are forgotten, allowing convicted criminals to walk free while justice is denied to their victims. In this case, the Pretoria Regional Court convicted the man of rape and sentenced him to life imprisonment on June 3, 2022. He was granted bail, pending an appeal.
The victim, who is now 21-years-old, was the rapist's stepdaughter. In 2018, when she was 16-year-old girl she told her mother that she had been raped by her stepfather over a four-year period beginning when she was 12 years old. She reported the crime to the police which led to the trial and conviction.
The mother approached AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit in November last year because there was no further progress. The Unit wrote to the Senior Sate Prosecutor in Pretoria on 11 November last year. In February this year, the NPA responded saying that it had received the appeal record on 21 November - a week after the unit demanded answers – and the appeal would be enrolled.
The mother of the young woman says as a family they have experienced endless problems with the criminal justice system, including the docket being “lost” twice which required her daughter to undergo repeated invasive medical exams. After this experience, we completely understand why victims feel overwhelmed and discouraged when seeking justice. The involvement of AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit has made a massive difference in our case. Even after a guilty verdict and sentencing, the frustration of seeing him out on bail while awaiting appeal only adds to the sense of injustice, especially when no further progress was being made. The fact that nothing has happened since 2022 feels like a continued failure to deliver closure or safety to the victim. It's infuriating how these cases can get drawn out, leaving victims feeling powerless and unheard. With the involvement of AfriForum's Private Prosecutions Unit, we eventually have end in sight and justice can finally be served,” she said, adding that she will forever be grateful for the unit’s intervention.
Barry Bateman, the unit’s spokesperson, says this is yet another example of how the criminal justice system fails victims of crime. “The National Prosecuting Authority should keep track of its cases and ensure that matters are enrolled for appeal within a reasonable time. The adage, justice delayed is justice denied is apt. The failure to effectively manage cases suggests there are countless other convicted criminals roaming free while victims of crime are denied closure,” said Bateman.
Bateman says the rape survivor, her family and AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit want to name the convicted rapist, but laws that protect the victims of crime prevents us from doing so. “The irony is that the very same laws designed to protect victims of crime provide criminals, like this convicted rapist, a shield to hide in plain sight. The unit strongly believes that the public has a right to know the identity of sexual predators to protect themselves and their children,” he said.
The appeal will be heard on 17 October 2024 in the Pretoria High Court.
Issued by Barry Bateman, Communications Manager: Private Prosecution Unit, AfriForum, 30 September 2024
