JOHANNESBURG- Lieutenant-General Khehla Sitole national police commissioner said on Friday they welcome the life sentence handed down on a mother who protected her baby’s rapist from authorities.
He said, “This may be little justice for the two-month-old baby, but the outcome of this case will surely serve to deter such criminality from taking place again,”
On Thursday the 29 year old mother was sentenced in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, despite the fact she did not commit the crime.
Police spokesperson Vish Naidoo said the sentence will set a precedent for any person thinking of protecting a criminal in future.
When she was interviewed by investigators after the crime, she claimed that the baby had fallen from a bed.
However medical tests revealed that the baby had been raped, the mother was then arrested and charged with aiding and abetting in terms of the Child Protection Act, child abuse and defeating the ends of justice.
She has been held under custody since November, when she was denied bail.
Naidoo said, “One of the reasons for her bail having been denied, was that during interviews with her, her version of what had happened to the baby continually changed.”
“Protecting the innocent and vulnerable is what we seek to ensure on a daily basis, and both Sergeant Lekgoathi and Advocate Du Plooy have excelled in this regard.”
Photo Credit- eNCA.com
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