Life sentence for an illegal immigrant who raped mentally elderly woman
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Emerson Regional Court has sentenced a 24 years old Zimbabwean national, Nqabwni Braidon Mangena for raping 59 years old mentally ill woman at her home.
The incident happened on August 29th, 2021 in KwaDela in Deval where Mangena followed the victim home from a local tavern.
He forced entry himself on the victim after gaining entry into the house.
The victim, who was living with her grandson at the time, got help when he returned home to find the house completely rearranged. He assumed that she had fallen taking in consideration that the victim also suffers from epilepsy.
Upon doing inspection on her, he saw visible marks on her knees and bruises in her inner thighs. He immediately alerted the police about the matter.
The victim was taken to the Ermelo Thuthuzela Care Centre, where she received psychosocial support and medical treatment.
Mangena was arrested and he also told the court that he was in the country try illegally and pleaded guilty on that separate charge and not guilty on the other.
Although he admitted that he knew that the victim was mentally ill, he said the sexual assault was consensual.
His defense was debunked by a J88 medical report showing injuries to the victim’s private parts, along with a report confirming that the victim’s mental capacity is equivalent to that of a five-year-old.
He said he also knew that the victim cannot hold a proper conversation.
In addition to the life imprisonment, the accused was sentenced to three months imprisonment for contravening the Immigration Act.
The court also ordered that the accused’s name be added to the National Sexual Offenders Register and declared him unfit to possess a firearm.
