Man Who Sexually Assaulted A School Child Allegedly Doesn’t Get Jail Sentence. A transport driver in KwaZulu-Natal who was accused of sexually harrasing a young girl while transporting her home has asked for leniency via his attorney.
A transport driver in KwaZulu-Natal who was accused of sexually harassing a young girl while transporting her home has asked for leniency via his attorney. He supposedly says that he could have done worse. The man’s attorney debated that he had the chance to hurt the teenage girl but he didn’t harm her.
Based on the statement, the attorney asked the court to be compassionate towards the 54-year-old accused. The Magistrate, Jenny Pillay, found the suspect guilty of the sexual assault case, in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court gave the man a five year sentence in prison. But she delayed the sentencing. It was said that if he does the same thing or something close to sexual assault during the five year time period, he would be admitted to prison. His name has been put onto the National Register for Sex offenders. Putting him on the list is essential in averting the accused from working with children next time, according to the magistrate.
The event happened in October 2018. The 54-year-old man transported secondary school children. The 14-year-old was part of the people in his transport, along with her cousin. The man told the 14-year-old teenager that he could only pick her up during his second drop-off, the girl waited as he picked up her cousin and a few other pupils to go home. He then came back to pick up the girl and two other boys. When he finished dropping off the boys he then closed the windows, locked the doors and was driving at a slow speed to her house. On the way, he touched her thighs, when she tried to halt him he held her hands and told her that he liked her.
He supposedly wanted to take the 14-year-old to Suncoast to see a movie, she stayed mum because she was afraid that he might hurt her. She told her aunt about the event that occurred who thus filed a case at the police station. The man started saying that the 14-year-old’s grandmother was set to pay him R200 and this was a way of getting away with not paying him. He then confessed to the accusations against him after some cross-examination from the prosecutor, Ishara Sewnarayan. He asked for forgiveness and asked the court to be compassionate towards him via his attorney.
“At the time when he was alone with the child, he could have done something worse, like rape, of which the victim admitted is what she feared. But he did not,” said the 54-year-old’s attorney. The 14-year-old victim says she feared him because she told on him. The teenager’s mother says that the man drove past the girl’s school and had other students call her so that he could talk her. “He drives past my house and my fear is that he is going to abduct her,” says the grandmother. They are in the procedure of getting a restraining order against him.
by Alexandra Ramaite
