Vryburg man who raped neighbour sentenced to life imprisonment

The Vryburg magistrate’s court on Tuesday sentenced a 33-year-old man who raped his neighbour in 2020 to life imprisonment.

The conviction and sentence emanate from an incident on September 19 2020 in Huhudi near Vryburg, where Tshepiso Brown hosted his neighbour, 30, and other friends at his home.

After the other friends left, the neighbour indicated that she would leave after finishing her drink. 

“Shortly after the friends had left, Brown asked the victim to have sex with him, which she refused. Brown subsequently assaulted her and dragged her to his bedroom, where he repeatedly raped her before freeing her the next morning,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in North West Henry Mamothame said.

The man was arrested two days later and went into custody after the court denied him bail.

Brown pleaded not guilty to the charge. He said he had consensual sex with the victim.

In aggravation of sentence, prosecutor Adv Baakeleng Mothibi urged the court not to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.

He argued that the accused had previous convictions of assault with grievous bodily harm, as well as one of culpable homicide.

Magistrate Patricia Rangwako agreed with the state, highlighting the prevalence of gender-based violence and the courts’ responsibility to send a strong message to offenders and would-be offenders.

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