Man Convicted For Raping A Deaf Student

Maun Chief Magistrate Thebeetsile Mulalu has convicted a 49-year-old former gardener at Boyei Primary School  for raping a former deaf student at the same school. The victim was reportedly aged 14 when the offence was committed.

During trial, it emerged that Oreeditse Kabo, on the 3rd of September 2016 allegedly invited the minor who was accompanied by two male class mates to his place where he later told her colleagues to leave the victim behind. It also emerged that he then took the victim to a different house, which he indicated belonged to his brother.

It is at this place that he ordered the minor to undress before forcefully having sexual intercourse with her using a condom. It is said that the victim at the time was on her period.

Court also heard that the following morning of the 4th September 2016, Kabo offered the victim water to bath, and thereafter gave her P50.00 and bought her fat cakes while on her way to school.

When delivering Judgement, Mulalu said the complainant was trust worthy as she was able to give her testimony in an eloquent and persistent manner, while also answering all questions posed without doubt. He said this also applied to her witnesses.

He added that medical reports also supported the complainant’s evidence, as the medical officer that attended her noted that there was evidence of penetration and her vaginal hymen was perforated. The officer also revealed that the complainant experienced vaginal swelling, adding that she felt pain during internal examination.

Mulalu dismissed Kabo’s defence that he was trying to help the victim get to her father, questioning why he separated the complainant with her friends instead of taking both of them back to school.

“The accused person took the complainant to a secluded place to have sexual intercourse with her without being disturbed, that is why the accused person spent a night with the complainant,” Mulalu concluded.

During trial, state witness Lindy Mapolanka who was the complainant’s sign language teacher revealed that on the day of the incident they realised that the complainant and her two friends were missing from school and a search for the students was subsequently launched.

She noted that they later found the complaint’s two friends, who claimed no knowledge of where she was.

Mapolanka revealed that the minor who had been missing from the previous day arrived at school in the morning and told her where she had been and that the accused person had forced her to have sexual intercourse with him. She added that the victim informed her that the accused person forced her to have intercourse with him, adding that this was despite her resistance and that she was on her period.

In his defence during trial Kabo had said the victim and her friends came to his place indicating that the victim was assaulted by care takers at school and they wanted him to take her to her father.

He further argued that after failing to locate the victim’s place he took her to his brother’s place for interpretation since he did not understand sign language. However, Kabo noted that his brother was not home hence they waited for him till it was dark and he offered the complainant a sleeping bag and slept on the same bed with her with their clothes on.

He denied forcing himself or having sexual intercourse with the complainant adding that he gave her water to freshen up before going to school. He said he gave her money which she had requested to buy sanitary pads and bought her fat cakes on her way to school.

He will appear before court on May 24 for filling of confirmation of previous convictions and HIV results.