Child rapist’s sentence reduced

A DE AAR man, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a nine-year-old girl, has had his sentence reduced to 16 years by Northern Cape Judge President Pule Tlaletsi.

Sam Stuurman was found guilty by the De Aar Regional court in September 2013 and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He appealed against the sentence on the grounds that the court had misdirected itself in finding there were no substantial and compelling circumstances justifying a departure from imposing the prescribed sentence of life imprisonment.

Stuurman, who was 39 years old at the time of the incident, was employed as a farm worker and knew his nine-year-old victim, who grew up around him. He was a first offender.

According to the medical practitioner who testified in the original case, the girl had previously been sexually molested by the appellant who also had sexual contact with several other children.

Tlaletsi pointed out that “unfortunately, this remark was not followed-up by the police or the prosecution during the trial. The allegation cannot, for the purposes of this appeal be relied upon since it was not clarified. It, however, remains a concern that a child of her age finds herself in such an unfortunate situation of being sexually active.”

In handing down his decision regarding the appeal, Tlaletsi pointed out that some of the aggravating features of this case, which were considered by the trial court, was that the victim was known to Stuurman, who was also aware that she was a child under the age of 16 years and instead of protecting her to reach her home safely, he decided to sexually molest her.

“The fact that the innocent child did not even know what “sex” was, did not deter the appellant.”

He stated that it was common cause that the appellant initially denied that he had raped the victim.

“It was only after the forensic DNA investigation and analysis that linked him to having had sexual intercourse with the child that he pleaded guilty. His guilty plea may therefore not necessarily serve as a sign of remorse on his part, but that the State’s case was very strong against him.

“Further, it may not have required of him to use excessive force as minimal force may have been sufficient to overpower his young victim. However, it remains a fact that the complainant did not suffer any physical injuries other than those associated with non-consensual intercourse involving a child,” Tlaletsi said.

“I am mindful that the fact that the complainant did not suffer serious physical injuries should not be regarded as a substantial and compelling circumstance. However, such a factor should be considered along with other relevant factors to arrive at the conclusion whether there are substantial and compelling circumstances or not and also to determine a just and proportionate sentence.”

He stated that this aspect had not been considered by the trial court.

“In my view, the fact that the appellant is a first offender who may be rehabilitated, that the rape was not accompanied by serious physical injuries and the appellant’s further personal circumstances renders a sentence of life imprisonment disproportionate to the offence.

Severe

“The rape itself is of course a serious offence, but it is not one of the most severe forms of rape that the courts have had to deal with.

“In my view the trial court failed to accord sufficient weight to the factors I have just referred to. The trial court over emphasised the seriousness of the offence and the interests of society to the detriment of the appellant’s personal circumstances and the circumstances of the case. These factors, therefore, rank as substantial and compelling circumstances.”

He added that Stuurman had been convicted of a serious offence.

“Its gravity justifies the imposition of a lengthy imprisonment term. Such term should take into account the interests of society and also be blended with a measure of mercy. The appellant had been in custody for a period of 18 months at the time of sentencing. To date, he has already served a period of about five years and six months in detention. To ameliorate the effect of the sentence on him it is appropriate that the sentence to be imposed be antedated to September 26, 2013.”

Tlaletsi ruled that the appeal against the sentence of life imprisonment be upheld and the sentence imposed by the regional court be set aside and replaced with a sentence of 16 years imprisonment.

The sentence was antedated to September 26, 2013.