A Northern Cape-based pastor has been sentenced to 33 years behind bars for the rape of two girls and a minor.
Joseph Themane was sentenced by the Kathu regional court on Monday after he was found guilty of the crime.
According to police in the province, 63-year-old Themane raped the girls in 2020 after he alleged that they were possessed by demons.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Molefi Shemane said the pastor took the two victims, aged 15 and 18 to the veld, raped them and said it was part of a cleansing process.
“The victims alerted their grandmother and a case docket was opened. The accused was arrested and bail was successfully opposed,” said Shemane.
“He was sentenced to 18 years for count one and 15 years for count two. The Kathu regional court concluded that he will be serving 33 years of direct imprisonment as the sentences will run concurrently.”
District police commissioner, Major-General Johnny Besnaar, applauded the investigating officer for the successful conviction and sentencing of the pastor.
“We welcome the sentence handed down to the pastor. Gender-based violence and femicide offenders will feel the full might of the law and be granted no impunity,” said Besnaar.
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