A regional court in Hanover, Northern Cape, has sentenced William Matheuws, 27, to life imprisonment plus an additional ten years for the rape of one five-year-old girl and the attempted rape of another, the National Prosecutions Authority said Monday.
The attacks occurred on 12 August 2023. According to the NPA statement, Matheuws was with both victims when a neighborhood child alerted an elderly community member. Upon arrival, the elderly person who later became the complainant in the case, found the children, who described what had happened.
The child who was raped was too traumatized to testify in court. The State relied on the testimony of the second minor, who experienced the attempted rape and witnessed the completed assault, as well as medical evidence contained in a J88 report compiled by the examining doctor.
In a Victim Impact Statement prepared by Court Preparation Officer Sisanda Mdletyana, the lasting emotional damage to the children was detailed, noting that “such violence can severely disrupt a child’s development and may cause permanent psychological harm.”
Prosecutor Siphiwo Hanise argued there were no substantial and compelling circumstances to depart from the prescribed minimum sentence for such offenses against children. The court agreed, imposing life imprisonment for the rape and a consecutive ten-year term for the attempted rape. Matheuws’s name was ordered entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders.
“The NPA welcomes the sentence and emphasises its strong message that crimes against women, children, and other vulnerable persons in society will not be tolerated,” regional spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane said in the statement.
Chief Prosecutor for the Kimberley Cluster, Advocate Keageletse Ilanga, commended the prosecution team, court preparation officer, and police investigators. “We hope that this sentence will bring closure to the victims and their families and offer some measure of comfort in knowing that the accused has been effectively removed from society through a life imprisonment sentence,” Ilanga said.