In handing down a life sentence to an Addo youth who raped a German teenager at a B&B in Addo last year, Justice Jeremy Pickering cited the devastating effect of the attack on the girl's life, the absence of genuine remorse on the part of her attacker, and the negative impact such crimes had on the livelihoods of almost a million people.
In handing down a life sentence to an Addo youth who raped a German teenager at a B&B in Addo last year, Justice Jeremy Pickering cited the devastating effect of the attack on the girl's life, the absence of genuine remorse on the part of her attacker, and the negative impact such crimes had on the livelihoods of almost a million people.
For the first time during his court appearances the usually stony faced Thanduxolo Jason January, who will turn 20 in October, showed emotion. His eyes filled with tears as Judge Pickering this week sentenced him to life imprisonment for the attack, and a total of a further 19 years for house breaking, robbery with intent to harm and attempted theft.
Even as January's 17-year-old co-accused began a 16-year jail sentence, having entered into a plea bargain with the state, and despite fingerprints and DNA evidence clearly implicating him, January maintained he was innocent.
It was only on Monday that January eventually confessed to Probation Officer, Bulelani Nkatsha, telling him that, given the chance, he would gladly apologise to the victim. However, Judge Pickering opined that rather than genuine remorse, this was merely "regret" at having been caught.
Judge Pickering described the incident as "despicable, predatory and perverted", telling the court it must have been "the most terrifying and horrifying experience" in a foreign country. The teenager was a virgin and 14 at the time of her visit to South Africa, in July last year.
She and her cousin, also 14, were sharing a chalet at an Addo B&B. On the night of the incident, their families were sleeping in a nearby chalet. The youths broke into their chalet and raped the girl, holding her cousin at knifepoint.
The German Grade 10 pupil testified last month via satellite from her home town of Wiesbaden, in Germany. Judge Pickering dismissed the argument made by January's lawyer, Chris Schuring, that the attackers had use minimum violence during the attack.
The attack was "loathsome, appalling and outrageous", the judge said, and it had had a "devastating effect" on the victims' lives. Judge Pickering said it was "abundantly clear she suffered severe emotional trauma". She had been obliged to undergo psychotherapy and had to have anti-retroviral treatment, "with all its unpleasant side-effects," he said. "She had fortunately not tested positive for HIV."
Judge Pickering said that the victim's childhood innocence had been taken from her in the most "degrading circumstances". He said children and women had the right to feel protected and secure, and that such a right had been taken from the victim when her space was invaded by January and his co-accused.
In handing down the sentence, Judge Pickering had also considered the interest of the community. Evidence showed that crime was playing a major role in the decline in value and volume in the tourism industry in the province. The court heard that tourism accounted for 3% (about R1.9 billion) of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). More than 400 000 people were directly employed in tourism, while 500 000 were indirectly employed.
Judge Pickering dismissed the contention that January had expressed remorse for his crimes. He cited January's repeated denial of any involvement in the crimes, despite DNA evidence and fingerprint evidence that directly pinned him to them.
January was sentenced to three years for house breaking, 15 years for robbery with intent to harm, life imprisonment for rape and one year for attempted theft. Investigating officer Warrant Officer Vernon Speelman said on Wednesday that he was pleased with the sentences and hoped this would act as a deterrent to others contemplating such crimes.
