Dros rapist loses bid to appeal against conviction and life sentence

The high court in Pretoria has dismissed Dros rapist Nicholas Ninow’s application for leave to appeal against his conviction and life sentence.

Ninow was convicted in September last year of raping a seven-year-old girl at a Dros restaurant in Silverton, Pretoria.

The rape happened in September 2018.

He was sentenced him to life in prison for the rape and five years for drug possession and defeating the ends of justice.

The sentences are to run concurrently.

The application for leave to appeal against his conviction and sentence was heard on Friday.

The court dismissed the application yesterday, saying an appeal would have no reasonable prospects of success.

Ninow’s lawyer, Herman Alberts, had argued that his client was “a broken man”, whose drug abuse had taken control of his life and actions.

He argued that the rape was not premeditated, claiming his client was high on drugs and alcohol at the time.

“He was predisposed throughout his upbringing [to] drugs. He was addicted,” Alberts said.

He argued that Ninow’s drug abuse had been “normalised” throughout his upbringing and he had no chance to avoid it. In response, state prosecutor Dora Ngobeni argued that the rape was a wellexecuted plan and that Ninow had moved closer to the kiddies’ area at the restaurant to prey on a child.

She asked the court to ignore any assertion that Ninow had acted impulsively.

In his judgment, judge Papi Mosopa said Ninow had not shown the existence of compelling and substantive circumstances why the court should deviate from the life sentence.

Mosopa said Ninow’s consumption of alcohol and drugs was not a mitigating factor to consider in sentencing him.

He also said Ninow’s letter to the victim’s family, which was read out in court during the trial, did not show remorse, but rather regret, for his actions.

Alberts said after the judgment that he could not comment until he had taken instructions from Ninow.