A 44-year-old man from Tshisahulu outside Thohoyandou was sentenced to life in prison for the rape of a 13-year-old girl. The case was finalised in the Thohoyandou High Court last Thursday.

Mawela Samson Mudau had all along denied any knowledge of the rape, even after the girl had testified that she had recognized him as the one who had raped her. He was, however, positively linked to the rape with DNA tests.

The court heard that Mudau, who stays at Tshisahulu-Posaito, lived close to the victim. In September 2007, he went to her house, saying that he wanted to help the girl to gain admission to a private school.

After not finding her at home, he left a message for her to come to his house, which the girl did. On her arrival, Mudau lured the innocent girl to the main bedroom, where he raped her. After the rape, it was testified, he gave the little girl R5 and sweets "to pay for her silence". He also promised her tuition fees for the following year.

The girl´s grandmother later learnt of the incident and she notified the police, who arrested Mudau.

The trial started in September 2010 and was finalized last week. The case drew a lot of interest from the public, with many community members from Tshisahulu, family members of the victim and Mudau attending the case.

Mudau pleaded not guilty from the onset and maintained innocence, even after being convicted through the testimony of the girl and DNA tests that were conducted by experts from a forensics laboratory in Pretoria.

The state was represented by Adv Ratshilumela Makhera, who asked for a stiff sentence, saying that the man had abused the position of trust the girl and her family had in him. He also pointed out that the accused was an educated man, who could not have acted out of ignorance when he committed the crime.

Makhera also put it to the court that the accused had not shown any remorse. He said the community expected crimes like rape to be punished by long sentences and pleaded with the court to mete out the harshest punishment as directed by the legislation.

In passing sentence, Acting Judge Cedrick Booi acknowledged that Mudau had not shown any form of remorse for his actions. The judge said Mudau had a tendency of being violent, given the fact that he had a previous conviction of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

Advocate Avhasei Thomu represented Mudau.