Rapist who preyed on elderly men sentenced to two life terms
The rapist was found guilty in the Robertson Regional Court of raping two men in their sixties in the Western Cape.
CAPE TOWN, March 17 (ANA) – A man from the Western Cape has been sentenced to two life terms in the Robertson Regional Court for raping two men.
In a statement released on Tuesday, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said Hennury Cloete was convicted on three counts of rape, two counts of housebreaking with the intent to rape, common assault and resisting arrest.
Cloete was sentenced to two life terms and five years for the three rapes, two and a half years’ imprisonment for the two counts of housebreaking with the intent to rape, six months’ imprisonment for common assault and two years’ imprisonment for resisting arrest.
The court has ordered the life sentences to run concurrently.
State prosecutor Tertuis van der Merwe told the court Cloete twice broke into the house of a 60-year-old mentally disabled man and raped him.
He said the incidents occurred in Suurbraak on April 8, 2015, and November 11, 2016.
Van der Merwe said the victim, who lived alone and had no electricity in his house, had difficulty identifying Cloete after the first incident; however, he could positively identify him after the second incident.
The State prosecutor also requested that the Department of Social Development (DSD) ensure care and protection for the victim, taking into consideration his cognitive vulnerabilities and his age.
Cloete was also convicted of raping a 62-year-old man on August 3, 2018, in Barrydale.
Police managed to apprehend him even after he resisted arrest.
Van der Merwe urged the court to order the minimum sentence for the crime of rape, which is life, as he argued that there were no material or compelling circumstances for the court to deviate from the prescribed sentence.
He also argued that the prevalence of sexual offences being committed against the most vulnerable members of society should be dealt with harshly by the courts of law.
Ntabazalila said the NPA welcomed the sentence handed down to Cloete and said it recognised the partnership between the State and the Worcester Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit as it was bearing fruit as indicated by successful arrests and prosecutions.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher
