Arrest over brutal rape

THE WESTERN Cape High Court yesterday sentenced a child rapist to an effective 25 years behind bars for the brutal rape and attempted murder of a 14-year-old girl. The town of Grabouw was rocked by the attack in July last year when Pakiso Panyana, who was 22 at the time, carried out the assault on his victim, who cannot be named. In a plea and sentence agreement, the full horror of the victim’s ordeal, which took place in broad daylight, is revealed. Panyana was at a park leading to the Grabouw cemetery when he saw his victim. Wielding a screwdriver, he demanded her valuables and stole R20 from her. He then dragged her into bushes, tied her hands with her a scarf and wire, and raped her twice. He then stabbed her in the neck with the screwdriver and repeatedly hit her on the head with rocks. When he left the scene, “she was bleeding from her mouth and was convinced she was dead as she lay still”. The girl had pretended to be dead in a desperate bid to survive – her skull was cracked in five places and her arm was fractured in three places. The teenager spent almost a month in hospital. She returned to school after being discharged from hospital. She has since made a full physical recovery. Panyana was charged with robbery, kidnapping, two counts of rape, and attempted murder. On the robbery charge, Western Cape High Court Judge John Hlophe sentenced him to 12 years. For kidnapping, he got five years, for the rapes 25 years and for the attempted murder 10 years. The robbery, kidnapping and attempted murder sentences were ordered to run concurrently with the sentence for the rapes, meaning an effective sentence of 25 years. Judge Hlophe ordered that Panyana be allowed to apply for parole only after 15 years in jail. The victim and her family were not at court, but they were apparently satisfied with the sentence. – ANA