Serial rapist gets 25 life terms

TWENTY-FIVE life sentences and an additional 254 years, ranks as one of the harshest sentences ever meted out to a serial rapist in the country.

Shadrack Xidada Chauke, 25, was given the severe penalty in the South Gauteng High Court yesterday after being found guilty on a staggering 60 counts, which included rape and attempted murder.

The charges included 23 of rape, two of attempted rape, and seven of housebreaking with the intention to commit robbery. Between 2012 and 2014, Chauke raped women in Tembisa, Ivory Park and Kempton Park in Ekurhuleni.

Chauke’s sentencing has been welcomed by the Gauteng Department of Community Safety and the police.

“I want to applaud the dedication and excellent detective work in this case. This will send a strong message that women’s rights and those of girl children are human rights,” said Gauteng Community Safety MEC Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane.

Provincial police commissioner LieutenantGeneral Deliwe de Lange said: “This sentence will encourage our officers to continue to prioritise the investigation of cases against women, children and other vulnerable groups. For the police, arresting a suspect is a success.

“But a conviction in court and multiple life sentences is a major victory.”

Chauke was 20 when he started raping women. He would approach women who were on their way to work or walking with their partners, holding them up with a knife or screwdriver.

Chauke would hit their male companions with a brick to render them unconscious, and drag the women into the bushes where he raped them.

Some of his victims were attacked and raped in their homes after he broke in.

In some cases, the women were compelled to watch each other being violated by Chauke.

Some were raped without a condom, putting them at risk of contracting sexuallytransmitted diseases and HIV/Aids.

He was arrested after police traced the location of one of his victim’s cellphones. The man in possession of the phone admitted to buying the phone from Chauke and took the police to him.

Police arrested Chauke and DNA tests were conducted, linking him to 17 other cases which had previously been reported to the police.

“His arrest came as a relief to women who were living in terror of being attacked and raped,” said National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phindi LouwMjonondwane.

Chauke’s victims were provided with court preparation support, trauma counselling, and accommodation during the trial.