Raped mom gets R850 000 damages

Prison authorities blamed for allowing criminals to escape

THURSDAY JUNE 22 2017

AMOTHER of three who was raped by a convicted criminal who escaped from jail, while his partner in crime, who had also escaped was ransacking the house, is set to receive R850 000 in damages from the Minister of Correctional Services – ultimately the taxpayer.

The 32-year-old woman was raped in 2010 when she was woken by two men in her bedroom. She told the Gauteng High Court, in Pretoria, that she was so traumatised since her ordeal, that she wished she was dead.

She repeatedly asked why God did not let them rather kill her, as “death would have been a much lesser sentence than rape”.

She initially claimed R5 million in damages from the minister in his official capacity.

The mother from Barberton in Mpumalanga, who cannot be identified, blamed Correctional Services for her ordeal. She said she would have never been raped if the prison authorities did their job and ensured that hardened criminals could not escape.

The rapist was serving a 40-year jail sentence for rape, housebreaking and theft, when escaped. His partner was serving a 45-year sentence for robbery and murder, among other things.

The pair broke into the woman’s house on June 17, 2010, within days of escaping from prison.

In describing the incident, the woman said she was in bed, clothed only in a T-shirt, when she was woken at 8am by someone sitting on the bed next to her. The other man was going through her cupboards.

Both tied her hands and feet and placed a scarf over her mouth. A duvet was placed over her head. The men then proceeded to ransack the house, but one came back and raped her while she was still tied up.

When he was finished he placed the duvet back over her head and continued to ransack the house. The pair had a meal in the house before they left.

The woman managed to call for help and was subsequently admitted to hospital.

It later emerged that the pair had escaped from prison in Barberton by cutting the wire fence.

The victim said the prison should have had safety measures in place when the prisoners roamed around in the prison yard. –