An 80-year-old Lephane pensioner’s case management conference for his two counts of raping his step daughter has been postponed to the 22nd December 2022 after he failed to bring to court his attorney.
The old man who was initially found guilty on his own plea for raping his 12-year-old step daughter in 2020, previously told court that he will engage an attorney for the other two similar counts of raping the same minor.
The accused, who initially pleaded guilty to all the three counts of rape committed between 2019 and 2020, changed his plea for the other two counts committed in 2019 arguing that the complainant had consented to the act.
Appearing before Maun Chief Magistrate Thebeetsile Mulalu recently, the Octogenarian told court that he was unable to secure a lawyer for the case, and further said he will change his plea of not guilty to guilty on the two rape counts.
In his previous appearance on the 1st November 2022, the old man argued that he pleaded guilty on the other two counts because the victim was a minor alleging that the 12-year-old actually offered him sexual intercourse.
“I was sleeping in my room and the complainant came into my house and offered sexual intercourse. If you are offered food to eat, would you reject it?” he asked.
Mulalu then postponed the case management conference to give the accused person some time to sort his legal representation issue. The accused person will then on the 15th appear in court again to confirm CMC dates.
On the 15th the accused person failed to bring his attorney alleging that there was a miscommunication between them. The conference was again postponed with an order by Mulalu to bring his attorney.
The accused person is alleged to have on three different occasions unlawfully had sexual intercourse with the complainant at their cattle post. On the first count, the accused person is alleged to have some time in July 2019 following the complainant’s arrival from school dragged her to his bedroom and raped her.
Around May 2020, the accused is said to have again forced himself on the complainant, and only stopped the act when the victim’s friend came over to the house looking for her. He then instructed the complainant not to tell anyone about the incident.
On the third count, he is said to have raped the complainant on the 17th October 2020. He is said to have instructed the complainant to take her school uniform to his house and then followed her where he proceeded to rape her. It was while in the act, that the complainant’s nephew and brother arrived and witnessed the act, before reporting the matter to the police.
