Man gets 18 years for child rape

A 23-YEAR-OLD Kimberley man was yesterday sentenced to 18 years in prison for raping and assaulting an eight-year-old girl.

Benjamin Harry Maarman was sentenced in the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court for raping and assaulting (with the intent to do grievous bodily harm) an eight-year-old girl from Ivory Park.

“On April 26 2017, at about 6pm, Maarman accompanied the victim from a shop, as they are known to each other. Just before they could reach the victim’s house in Ivory Park, Maarman pulled the girl into the veld and raped her.

“He also assaulted the victim with a stone, hitting her against the head. He was arrested and will serve an effective 18 years’ imprisonment for this heinous act,” police spokesperson, Captain Sergio Kock, said yesterday.

“The Acting Deputy Provincial Commissioner for Crime Detection in the Northern Cape, Brigadier Nicky Mills, lauds Detective Sergeant Daniel Satisfied of the Galeshewe SAPS Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit for a job well done. We trust that this sentencing will send out a stern warning to all perpetrators that the SAPS will surely be out there in full force to ensure that no impunity is granted to offenders of such odious crimes,” Kock added.

• Five people were arrested and millions of rands worth of abalone seized during a raid on a house in Table View, outside Cape Town.

An intelligence driven operation led several police units to Circle Road in Table View.

Officers entered the premises after observing a car stopping in front of the house, the occupants got out and carried several black bags into the residence. Two of the rooms were fully equipped drying rooms.