Maximum sentence for Mdantsane child rapist

A MDANTSANE man who raped a little girl of nine from his neighbourhood and then tried to buy her silence with R3 was yesterday jailed for 25 years.

Thembekile Mhlongo, 42, of NU1 was sentenced by Mdantsane regional magistrate Xoliswa Gixana after being found guilty of raping the child inside his home on January 14 2016. According to Mdantsane police spokesman Captain Nkosikho Mzuku, the “fragile victim” was very close to Mhlongo’s girlfriend, and spent some nights at their home when the boyfriend was out working night shifts.

Mzuku said on the day of the “merciless” rape, the child had gone to Mhlongo’s house to look for her girlfriend who was not there at the time. “Unfortunately, on that fateful Sunday, the young girl was greeted by her boyfriend at the door, who falsely told her that the girlfriend was on her way.

“As she waited for her arrival, the man told her to go sleep in one of the spare rooms in the house. He later went into that room and repeatedly raped the little girl for the entire night,” Mzuku said.

The man then sent the little girl home in the early hours of the morning. “He tried to buy her silence by bribing her with an insignificant amount of R3 after he had threatened to harm her if she uttered a word,” said Mzuku. He was arrested on February 16, 2016 after he had been on the run from police for more than four weeks.

Mzuku said: “One of our most dedicated Mdantsane family and child services detectives, Warrant Officer Zonwabele Singeni, spent sleepless nights tracking him down. He played a pivotal role in ensuring a successful conviction.

“When Mhlongo became aware that police were hot on his heels, he went underground and could not be located until February 16.

“That is when police received vital information that he was back at his house, which led to his immediate arrest.”

Mzuku said a case of rape was opened at the NU1 police station after the little girl told her mother “about the cruel ordeal she went through in the hands of Mhlongo that night”.

Mzuku said the SAPS welcomed the conviction and sentencing of Mhlongo, saying it would go a long way in deterring would-be child rapists. —