Teen in tears after conviction for rape
A teenager who kidnapped and raped a Gelvandale woman sobbed loudly and hit the wooden panelling of the dock in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Thursday following his conviction.
The 17-year-old, who is not being named as he is a minor, cried uncontrollably.
He had to be consoled by relatives after judge Glenn Goosen convicted him and coaccused Donovan Heugh, 26, of kidnapping the 33-year-old teacher from outside her Gelvandale home.
They then robbed her, pointing an object which could be believed to be a firearm, and raped her repeatedly in the early hours of July 17 2017.
Goosen said the evidence of the woman, who is not being named as she is a victim of a sex crime, was consistent, reliable and corroborated by medical evidence and, to a certain degree, that of the teenager.
“[The victim] was honest and fair in her account [and] presented evidence favourable to the accused, particularly so to [the teenager] who she identified as the young one.”
His lengthy judgment took more than two hours.
“[The teenager’s] evidence contradicts the version of [Heugh] on every aspect . . . [the teenager] was not a poor witness, he gave an account which is in line with aspects of the complainant’s version,” Goosen said.
In his version, the youngster confirmed the attack happened in the early hours of July 17 2017 in Bell Road, that he robbed the woman of her bag, that Heugh forced her to accompany him and that the three went to the Gelvandale Sports Grounds.
Goosen found that the only differences between the youngster’s version and that of the woman were the manner in which they got to the sports grounds, that a third person was involved, that a firearm was used in the crime and that he raped the woman.
In her testimony, which Goosen found was true beyond reasonable doubt, the woman said she had been abducted outside her house by the two men and taken to the sports grounds and while there the driver of the white VW Golf had an argument with Heugh and said he wanted no part in what was to happen as the alleged plan was only to rob her.
She was then taken into bushes where Heugh raped her while the youngster watched.
According to the woman, Heugh then forced the youngster to rape her before he raped her a second time.
Both Heugh and the teenager denied the allegations.
Heugh claimed he and his younger co-accused had found the woman walking in Zimdahl Street, Helenvale, on the day before the attack.
She allegedly told Heugh she had an argument with her boyfriend and was looking for a place to sleep.
The three then went to Heugh’s home where, according to him, the youth was sent home and he and the woman had consensual sex.
“In my view [Heugh] was not an impressive witness.
“Not only is his version contradicted by that of [the teen] but it is wholly improbable and farfetched,” Goosen said.
Heugh was arrested at his home the same day of the assault after police were alerted to a man matching Heugh’s description and having the woman’s bag in his possession.
The woman positively identified him later that night at the Gelvandale police station.
The youngster was arrested after his aunt convinced him to hand himself over after it was discovered he had stolen the woman’s tablet computer and sold it to a relative.
He was also positively identified by the woman.
Heugh has five previous convictions, including robbery, housebreaking and contravening the Domestic Violence Act.
His accomplice is a firsttime offender.
After judgment was delivered, the teenager’s advocate, Jodine Coertzen, asked the court for a postponement in order to obtain a probation officer’s report as well as a victim impact report before sentencing.
Goosen agreed to postpone the matter to January 24.
Both Heugh and the teen will remain in custody until then.