Tears as rapist is sentenced

Five years for man who also filmed teen rape

She had feelings for you and thought that you had feelings for her. She expected you to protect her as her ‘boyfriend’, not to video-tape this filth

THE mother of a raped teenager cried openly for the man who was convicted and sentenced for the crime.

The girl’s mother, who cannot be named to protect the identity of her daughter, told the Sunday Times Extra her heart broke for Darren Mogany’s single mother, Dhanabagium, when the 20-yearold was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday.

“I wouldn’t be a mother if I didn’t feel bad . . . I cried for what is happening to that family,” she said.

But the victim, now 19, was less forgiving.

“It has been three years now and I haven’t managed to move on. I want him to experience the prison that has become my life,” she said.

Her father agreed, saying the jail term facing Mogany was too lenient.

“He should have got a longer sentence. We expected more.”

In March this year, Mogany and his brother-in-law Adish Deonarain were acquitted of the 2010 rape of the then 15-year-old.

But Mogany was convicted of rape in terms of the Sexual Offences Act and for creating, possessing and distributing child pornography.

Mogany abused the girl with a beer bottle while she lay unconscious and later placed an apparently used condom on her face. He filmed these acts on his cellphone and distributed the video to some of his friends. The video went viral.

The incident took place during school hours at an unsupervised party at Mogany’s Merebank home.

During the trial, it emerged that the girl had consumed alcohol and smoked dagga — both of which she had acquired.

At the sentencing, Durban Magistrate Sharon Marks said the video would continue to impact on the girl’s life.

“One cannot be excused because of one’s age . . . The trauma she sustained and is still sustaining because of this video must be considered.”

Marks said Mogany’s having had a relationship with the victim and being under the influence of illegal substances at the time of the crime did not give him the right to take advantage of her.

“She had feelings for you and thought that you had feelings for her. She expected you to protect her as her ‘boyfriend’, not to videotape this filth,” she said.

Mogany’s mother and elder sister broke down after Marks handed down her sentence.

The victim took the stand, telling of the difficulties she experienced daily.

“I feel that everybody is looking at me, judging me, like everyone knows,” she said.