The Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko has welcomed the hefty sentence imposed on Nicholas Ninow (21) on the 17th October, at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. Ninow has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape of a seven-year-old girl, in a toilet cubicle of the Dros restaurant in Pretoria. He has also been handed a five-year sentence for possession of drugs and another five years for defeating the administration of justice.Judge Papi Masopa ordered the other two sentences to run concurrently with the sentence in count one, and that his particulars should also be included in the sexual offenders list which will effectively prohibit him from being employed in an environment that involves children.
“I am delighted with the hefty sentence imposed against this heartless paedophile who preyed on this innocent child. The sentence demonstrates government’s effort in addressing the scourge of violence against women and children, particularly as it happened when the country is about to kick start the 16 Days of Activism for "No Violence against Women and Children" campaign.
Restaurants are supposed to be places of relaxation and safety for our children. We cannot allow our children to be abused by people entrusted with the responsibility of educating, nurturing and protecting them,” said MEC Mazibuko.
The MEC also acknowledged the role Ikhaya Lethemba continues to play in cases such as this one. “The Department of Community Safety monitored this case very closely through our victim empowerment centre, Ikhaya Lethemba, to ensure that the Criminal Justice System executed a harsher sentence on Ninow. A word of appreciation to our committed and dedicated staff members and the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) team based at Ikhaya Lethemba, for ensuring that appropriate support was given to the victim during the duration of the trial.
Ikhaya Lethemba continues to be a sanctuary to victims of abuse and committed staff members walk the path with them by providing psycho-social services, medico-legal services and during the court process. This is a clear demonstration of our commitment to support victims of abuse. ’’added MEC Mazibuko
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