A KwaZulu-Natal serial rapist who preyed on young girls, with his youngest victims being 11-years-old, has been sentenced to three life terms of imprisonment.
Sakhile Mhlungu, 44, was sentenced on Wednesday in the Scottburgh Regional Court for a string of rapes and kidnappings he committed between April 2019 and April 2021 in Sawoti, Msinsini and Highflats on the KZN South Coast.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Mhlungu preyed on 10 females, aged between 11 and 22-years-old.
His modus operandi would be to offer them a lift in his motor vehicle, taking them to a nearby forest, where he raped them.
NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said following the incidents, the complainants opened cases at the police station, describing the motor vehicle driven by Mhlungu.
“The police circulated this description, and Mhlungu was caught while driving his motor vehicle.
“A subsequent identity parade confirmed that he was the one who had attacked the complainants.
“Mhlungu was also linked to some of the complainants by DNA evidence.”
In victim impact statements handed into the court, the NPA said the victims feared for their lives, had contemplated suicide and produced poor academic results following their ordeal.
Explaining the sentences, Ramkisson-Kara said Mhlungu was sentenced to three terms of life imprisonment for the rapes where the victims were under the age of 18-years-old.
“He received 10 years imprisonment for each of the remaining counts of rape, three years imprisonment for attempted rape, three years imprisonment for each of the kidnapping charges, and 15 years imprisonment for the robbery with aggravating circumstances.”
She said he will effectively serve life imprisonment.
“In addition, the court ordered that his name be entered in the National Register of Sex Offenders and his particulars be included in the National Child Protection Register.”
IOL News