Three men accused of raping 17-year-old traced and apprehended

The South African Police Service (SAPS) on Wednesday 31 March 2021 confirmed that three men accused of raping a 17-year-old teen from Hopetown were traced and apprehended.

The suspects – ranging between the ages of 22 and 33 – will appear before the Hopetown Magistrate’s Court in due time and will be charged with counts of rape and abduction. Here’s what we know.

Three rapists apprehended

Captain Olebogeng Tawana described it as a breakthrough in the case and confirmed that the “suspects had been hiding from authorities”.

Captain Tawana confirmed that the three men were arrested in Hopetown on Wednesday, “during suspect tracing operations” after they allegedly “abducted the victim” earlier this month.

“[The suspects] forced her inside a shack in Hopetown, where they took turns to rape her”.

Captain Tawana further said the Northern Cape police management condemns acts of violence against women and children and reminds the public that SAPS are committed to fight the gender-based violence scourge in the country.

Gang member gets 3 life term sentences.

In a separate incident, a 24-year-old gang member was sentenced in the Gqeberha High court to three cases of murder. Neaven Demingo committed the crimes in May 2018 and April 2019.

The Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Liziwe Ntshinga lauded “the excellent collaboration between the investigating officers and the prosecuting authority in making sure that gangsters are removed from our communities”.

“Due to the effective relationship between investigators and the prosecuting authority, communities can be assured of sentences such as these.  At the end of the day, justice must be served for the victims and their families through a successful prosecution. I, once again commend our partners, the NPA and the investigating officers in both these cases for such thorough and meticulous investigation”.

Lieutenant-General Liziwe Ntshinga

Three counts of murder

Both cases were under investigation by the Provincial Organised Crime Investigation (Gang Investigation), which lead to Demingo’s arrest on 20 May 2019. He remained in custody until the finalisation of the cases.

He received three counts of life imprisonment for the three three murder cases, along with five years for attempted murder, 15 years each for two counts of the unlawful possession of a firearm.

He also received six years each for two counts of illegal possession of ammunition. Colonel  Priscilla Naidu confirmed that the sentences will run concurrently with the life sentence.